


Walk Through Walls

by wellsandbering312



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Adventure, F/F, Mountains, Romance, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 11:04:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 26,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6003417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellsandbering312/pseuds/wellsandbering312
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Myka and Helena adventure to the frigid Mount Greylock in Massachusetts to retrieve an artifact when things slide out of control and they find themselves stranded in the snowy mountains without a way to call for help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pretending to Read

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I own nothing that is recognizable.
> 
> This is my first fic and I'm new to this creative writing business, so go easy on me. :)

Myka Bering enjoyed spending her time alone with a good book. She loves her job at the Warehouse, but sometimes she just needed that small escape from reality. When the Bed and Breakfast was quiet, Myka could get lost in a story for hours on end. Nestled into one of the comfortable armchairs in the common room of the B&B, Myka's nose was buried in her book.

"Dude, there's no way you're going to beat me," she heard Claudia say from upstairs. "I am the master at Mortal Kombat."

"Please, I've been playing Mortal Kombat since the first game came out," followed Pete's voice, a bit closer. Myka rolled her eyes as her housemates descended the stairs. She knew where this was going. Her peace and quiet was as good as gone.

Claudia bounced her way to the entertainment center with her SEGA Genesis console in hand, cables hanging loosely. Myka didn't understand why they couldn't just play their silly games in Claudia's room, but she knew it would be fruitless to even suggest such a thing. She loved her Warehouse family, she really did, but sometimes they drove her crazy. That's what family does, though, Myka thought to herself as Pete tossed a pillow from the sofa at Claudia's head. It bounced off her, nearly hitting the lamp on the side table.

"Then how about you put your money where your mouth is, Grandpa?" Claudia quipped. "Loser does inventory for the winner for the next month."

"I hope you're ready for that kind of punishment," Pete exclaimed around a mouth full of cookies, "because I am so winning." Myka wasn't sure from where the cookies materialized, but she was pretty sure Pete had a stash in his room. She was also pretty sure that a bit of chewed up cookie flew out of his mouth. She hid her disgust and tried to keep reading her book.

The game was set up and Claudia made her way to the sofa. Pete grabbed the television remote and increased the volume as ULTIMATE MORTAL KOMBAT 3 flashed up on the screen and Claudia tossed his game controller onto the cushion.

Turning her attention back to her book once again, Myka tuned out the noise coming from the game and the children playing it. Only another two pages in, Myka's attention was yet again pulled from the story. This time, however, it was a more welcome distraction. Just barely a glimpse from the corner of her eye, Myka noticed as Helena quietly descended the stairs and entered the kitchen.

After a few minutes, HG emerged with a cup of tea. She appeared to be heading back to the stairs before noticing the commotion in the next room over. Myka's heart skipped a beat when Helena looked at her with a single raised eyebrow. That's all it took, really. A simple look and Myka lost the grip on herself for just a moment. Regaining control, Myka pointed her face back to the book, but her attention was still on HG.

Helena sat down in an armchair on the opposite side of the room. Myka could feel her gaze as she sipped on her tea. Myka knew that her attempts to hide her feelings were becoming increasingly more weak, but she wasn't ready to deal with this yet. Helena exuded confidence and Myka still wasn't certain that she didn't act this flirtatious with just about everyone. The potential for humiliation was enough to keep Myka at bay for now and the apprehension about being with a woman certainly wasn't going to help anything along. Myka really didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was how Helena made her feel.

"Ooohhh, I told you I was the master," Claudia yelled while doing a dance, breaking Myka's reverie. Looking at the screen, Myka saw that one of the characters was standing victorious. Myka hadn't the slightest idea how many rounds they played, but it was clear that Claudia won enough for Pete to be declared the loser.

"Not fair! You were just button mashing half the time and your girlish fingers must have moved faster than my strategic button pressing," Pete countered. "I demand a rematch!"

"Nope! No rematching. You lost and I won. Fair and square," Claudia declared in a sing-song voice as she started walking back upstairs. "You've got my inventory duty for the next month, dude!"

Myka smiled into her book at their childish antics. Pete briefly disappeared into the kitchen and then headed upstairs with a glass of milk. Myka was relieved that their shenanigans were over for the night and she could get back to reading some more before it got too late. A few lines into the first paragraph, Myka realized that HG was still watching her from across the room. She glanced up and their eyes met. Helena's eyes were full of amusement, but there was something deeper to that gaze and it made Myka avert her own eyes.

"You are rather fetching when you're pretending to read, darling," Helena teased, enunciating the word 'pretending' just a bit too much. Myka glanced up, saw the same amusement and intensity in those dark eyes, and glanced at the clock. Mumbling the excuse that it was getting late, Myka smiled shyly and walked toward the stairs with her book in tow.

"Good night, HG," Myka spoke softly, turning back toward the woman.

"Sleep well, darling," Helena nearly purred as Myka continued her ascent.


	2. Almost on Time

Myka woke to a start when her Farnsworth began buzzing. Not understanding why Artie would be calling so early, Myka peeked at the clock on the bedside table and was shocked to see that she had slept until eight o'clock. After attempting to get her hair under control, she flipped the Farnsworth open.

"Took you long enough," Artie grunted.

"Sorry, I was just trying to…" Myka started.

"Nevermind that, we have a ping," Artie pressed. "Tell Agent Wells that I will be there in 30 minutes to brief the two of you on the artifact."

"Okay, I'll just…" Myka started again, but didn't finish because Artie had already disconnected their communication.

He never says hello, Myka thought to herself, for the millionth time.

Bounding out of bed, Myka knew she needed to find Helena quickly, before even getting herself together. With HG's disregard for rules and penchant for questioning authority, she was always on Artie's bad side. Myka wanted to be sure that she was ready to go by the time Artie arrived at the B&B.

Knocking gently on Helena's door, Myka waited patiently. Upon hearing shuffling from the other side of the door, Myka's pulse quickened. This is Helena's bedroom. The room with Helena's bed. Okay Myka, chill out, there's no need to be so anxious, it's just her room, she berated herself as the door opened to an already dressed HG Wells.

"Good morning, darling. It looks like you've slept rather well," Helena suggested without missing a beat while giving Myka's disheveled appearance a once over.

"Ah, yeah, just fine," Myka replied awkwardly, not sure how to respond when she was under the scrutiny of Helena's gaze yet again. "Um, Artie needs us to be ready for briefing on a new artifact in 27 minutes, but it looks like you're already prepared so I'm just going to get myself together now," she strung into one breath. She turned to leave quickly and missed the amused smirk on HG's face.

After showering and brushing her teeth, Myka was ready to head downstairs with just a few minutes to spare. She swiftly opened her bedroom door and bumped right into HG as she stepped into the hallway.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Myka exclaimed with embarrassment.

"Not at all, darling, I should have been watching out for hurried Warehouse Agents. I hear they can be quite plentiful in these hallways," Helena mused, taking a moment to enjoy the scent of Myka's shampoo as it washed over her.

"No, no, I should've been more careful. I could have knocked you right down the stairs," Myka went on.

"Really, darling, it is quite alright. Let us proceed down the stairs before Arthur starts shouting," Helena proposed. "After you."

Myka gave HG a timid smile and headed toward the stairs at her suggestion, again, being none the wiser when the woman watched her with a smirk as she walked away.

As they reached the table, Artie was just about to sit down with impatience. "Good, you're actually almost on time," he barked at Helena.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Arthur, but Myka was just as late as I am," HG retorted, tossing an apologetic smile in Myka's direction. Myka knew that these minor infractions were typically overlooked when it was, on the rare occasion, her fault. Since she was working hard to keep the peace between Artie and HG, Myka admitted, "it was entirely my fault, Artie. HG would have been here on time if I hadn't run into her in the hallway."

"Huh, well then let's just sit down and get this started," he grumbled as he grabbed for his chair and tossed their folders on the table. "The McIntyre Mining Pick. It's causing earthquakes and avalanches in New England. This is an easy case because the police have already apprehended the man who was using the pick in a federally protected cave near Mount Greylock. I just need the two of you to go retrieve the pick, since the police didn't know what they were dealing with. They left it in the cave and it needs to be neutralized before it causes another avalanche inducing quake. Your flight to Albany leaves in four hours. It's an hour drive from there to your accommodations for the night."

As Artie stood up to leave, Myka read through the folder as thoroughly as possible to acquaint herself with the case. HG did not as she knew that she would have more than enough time to do so on the plane. She picked up her folder and walked to her room to pack. Myka started writing a list of everything she would need to pack for an excursion into the frigid mountains.

When both women were ready to go, they loaded up the car. Pete offered to drive them to the airport. Myka wordlessly climbed into the back seat to allow HG the front seat, but the raven haired woman was not having it. She slid into the back seat alongside Myka and leaned a tad too close while reaching for her seatbelt. Helena heard the quick intake of breath from Myka as she purposely brushed their arms together and just smiled to herself once again. This was quickly becoming her favorite game to play.

As soon as Pete put the car into drive, Myka recovered by jumping right into the plan she established for their travels. Even though Artie already laid out the basics, she wanted to discuss it further.

"So as soon as we get to the airport, we need to get our luggage checked in. We're already cutting it a bit closer for our flight than I'm comfortable with," she began, "and who knows how long it will take to get through security."

"Myka, we'll be fine. There is more than enough time for us to make it through security, even if it's exceedingly busy," HG assured her. "And if necessary, you can simply flash your badge to get us to the front of line."

"Still, I don't want to take any chances," Myka replied with less conviction. She knew HG was right, but she didn't want to risk anything. Soon enough, they had arrived at the airport and Pete was pulling the car to the curb beneath a large 'DEPARTURES' sign. Myka unhooked her seatbelt and opened the door, moving swiftly to remove their luggage from the trunk. "Thanks for the lift, Pete," Myka called back as he waved his arm out the window.

"Right then," Helena began while grasping her suitcase and motioning toward the door, "shall we?"

Myka nodded and set off for the doors with Helena at her side.


	3. Mile High

As the agents walked inside the airport, Myka made a mental note that it didn't look terribly busy and they should be standing at their gate in hardly any time at all. Helena was quiet as their bags were checked in and they made their way to the line for security. With only about twenty people ahead of them, Myka didn't want to cause a fuss by flashing her badge to skip ahead in the line. She knew that Helena would have gladly done it to skip past a single person, but fortunately her partner was staying at her side and following her lead. Glancing to the raven haired woman, Myka could see that she was internally struggling between wanting to flash her badge and wanting to please Myka with her patience. HG Wells spent far too much time in bronze to be a patient woman, but Myka recognized that she actually tried to behave.

After providing her boarding pass and identification to the security attendant at the checkpoint, Myka stepped into line to have her carry on examined and her body scanned. She began removing her shoes to expedite the process. It drove her crazy when people did not do so until it was their turn, because they clearly had enough time to prepare while waiting. Helena approached as she was reaching to remove her belt. Myka felt the heat rising to her cheeks as the artificer watched her deft hands unhook the belt. With a slight grin, HG also began removing items. Thankfully for Myka, the line moved forward and she could reach the bins to place her belongings on the moving belt. As she positioned herself in the body scanner, she felt almost naked. The security process was necessary and never bothered her before, but it was a lot easy to go through when she wasn't being raked over by Helena's eyes the entire time.

"You can step through," the security officer grunted, pulling Myka's attention from her thoughts. She hoped she didn't appear nervous just then. Airport security was not a good place to look anxious, but she didn't have much control over her physiological responses when Helena was near.

Stepping back into her shoes, Myka waited for HG to rejoin her. She glanced at her watch to see that they still had nearly an hour before their plane would start boarding.

"Did you want to grab something to eat or drink?" Myka asked. "We still have some time before we need to be at our gate."

"That sounds lovely," Helena agreed. "I'd like a cup of tea before boarding. I can't imagine any place here has proper tea, but I'm fairly certain it'll be better than any swill I might be offered on the airplane."

"I don't think any locale in America will have tea to your standards, especially not an airport, but let's see what we can find," Myka teased as she steered them in the direction of a nearby billboard with a map of the terminal. "Hmm, looks like the only option is a Starbucks down this way."

Myka watched apologetically as Helena grimaced and nodded concedingly. She knew that her partner was not a fan of the well known coffee chain, but when there was no other option, it would have to make do.

"I just have a hard time understanding why people willing pay such a high price for such an average beverage," Helena remarked while glaring at the shop as they rounded the corner, "and why they will wait in such a long line for it".

Myka saw the length of the line and rolled her eyes. "Helena, there are only four other people in that line. Considering we're in an airport, you should be thankful it's not longer."

Helena let out a sigh and stepped into place next to Myka in the line. She was fidgeting impatiently and Myka resisted the urge to take Helena's hand into her own.

After receiving their drinks and pastries, the women aimed for their gate. Myka thought it best to sit nearby while consuming their refreshments, on the off chance that boarding started earlier or if there was an announcement about the flight. Although obviously displeased with the quality of her tea and scones, based on the continued sighs and sounds of dramatic disapproval, HG ate everything in front of her.

Boarding for their flight began right on time and the agents made their way down the jetway. Myka watched as Helena's patience was tested again as the other passengers stowed their carry-on bags in the overhead compartments. Upon reaching their seats, both women were secretly disappointed to realize that they were sat on opposite sides of the aisle. They settled into their seats and prepared for takeoff.

As soon as they were at altitude and the 'fasten seatbelt' sign went off, the man in the seat next to Helena excused himself to squeeze by. Helena unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to the aisle as he made his way toward the restroom. She sat back down without buckling and awaited his return. Upon returning, the man had acquired a beverage that smelled of whiskey.

Myka opened her book to the place she stopped last night and had no idea what was happening in the story. She assumed that she must have been mindlessly flipping through the pages while distracted by Helena's presence. It's no wonder she knew I was pretending to read, Myka thought. I probably looked like an imbecile going too quickly from page to page. Unbeknownst to Myka, HG was discreetly observing her again as she attempted to find the last part of the story that she could actually recall.

After reading a few pages, Myka heard a thumping noise from across the aisle. She glanced over and saw that the young boy in the row behind Helena was swinging his legs and kicking her seat. He was wearing headphones to hear the movie playing for the passengers and seemed unaware that he was even surrounded by other people. Helena glared ahead, and Myka couldn't help but chuckle softly at HG's misfortune. Helena closed her eyes and gritted her teeth for control, but the boy did not stop soon enough. Just as Helena began to turn her body to admonish the boy, Myka reached her hand across to her partner's arm. It was a light touch, but it was enough to distract Helena and keep her from causing a scene at the moment. Myka tried to convey sympathy with her eyes, but knew she had to intervene somehow.

Shifting in her seat, Myka turned toward the woman with the iPad next to him. She really hoped it was the boy's mother. "Excuse me, ma'am?" she whispered, not wanting to disrupt the other passengers. "Is this your son?"

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" the woman eyed her suspiciously as she looked up from her tablet.

"He's been kicking my friend's seat for last few minutes and I was just hoping you could ask him to stop," Myka offered apologetic.

"Frankie! Quit kicking that woman's seat," the woman scolded harshly after pulling his headphones off one ear. The boy stopped swinging his legs immediately and mumbled a brief apology while the woman refocused on her iPad.

Myka adjusted back into her seat and realized that her hand was still resting on Helena's arm. She quickly snapped her hand over to her own armrest and looked forward as a blush crept up her neck. Not a bit of this was lost on Helena who offered thanks and a crooked grin.

Myka turned her attention to the case file for the next 40 minutes or so. She heard the man with the whiskey grumble an apology as he gestured to the restroom. Myka couldn't help but chuckle again at Helena's luck with her nearby passengers and Helena shot her a playful scowl as she moved to stand in the aisle again. Just after her partner moved into the aisle and the man passed by, the plane shook gently with turbulence. It wasn't enough turbulence to cause concern, but it was just enough to test Helena's balance. Always quick of wit, Helena took advantage of the momentum and let it press her right into Myka.

The air rushed right out of Myka's lungs in the moment that Helena's body lurched forward and invaded her senses. Her first instinct upon seeing Helena lose her balance was to reach out and steady her, but given the physics of the situation, this just made things more complicated. Her partner's body was moving straight for her and reaching her hands out caused them to splay across the lower part of Helena's abdomen as they were pressed between their bodies. When Helena reached out to steady herself, one hand landed on the headrest behind Myka's soft curls, and the other landed atop Myka's shoulder. They were jostled together for a few moments before the turbulence ceased and Helena could slowly extricate herself from that glorious position. As HG pulled back, Myka glanced up and gulped at the breasts that were the only thing she could focus on. Helena noticed the effect she was having on Myka and made certain to slow down her retreat.

"Sorry about that, darling," Helena mused with a simper as she turned slowly and sat back in her seat. Feeling the heat in her face yet again, Myka wanted to sink into her seat and hide from Helena's knowing look.

"Due to the turbulence and proximity to our final destination, the captain has turned on the 'fasten seatbelt' sign for the remainder of our trip. We should be arriving in Albany, New York in approximately 30 minutes. The weather is currently partly cloudy with a temperature of 30 degrees Fahrenheit."

Thankful for the distraction of the flight attendant, Myka began putting her belongings in order as her pulse returned to normal.

When the plane landed and all was clear, the agents disembarked and headed toward baggage claim. They waited near the designated baggage carousel and stepped closer when the light began flashing and the belt began moving. Luggage started pouring onto the belt and the women kept their eyes peeled for their own belongings. Most of the bags were simple and black, just like Helena's.

"Oh bollocks," she exclaimed. "I've just realized that I forgot to put an identifying marker on my luggage this morning. Artie provided me with the most basic item he could find, evidently."

"Well," Myka started, "I suppose we can wait at the end of the belt in hopes that all of the other black bags will be grabbed up by their rightful owners. Are you certain that there was nothing out of the ordinary on yours?"

"Right positive," Helena answered, without needing another moment to think about it, and made her way to the end of the belt.

"I see mine," Myka remarked as her bag came around the curve of the belt. "Perhaps we'll get lucky and that black one next to it will be yours."

Indeed they were lucky, as the bag continued to scoot past everyone else. Helena reached to pull it off the belt, and sure enough, her name and information were on the plain black luggage tag.

"Aces!" Helena declared with excitement.

"Don't forget to mark it with something obvious before we head back home," Myka instructed HG. "It might not be as easy to find if this happens again. But let's go seek out the rental car agency before it starts getting too late. Artie had a car prepared for us with off-road capabilities since we'll be driving into the mountains."


	4. Accommodations

By the time the agents were in the rental car and ready to go, the sun was already setting. Myka entered the first set of GPS coordinates provided by Artie and started the engine of the SUV. Just as Artie said, they were an hour's drive away from the location of their lodging in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. Myka hoped they didn't have to venture too far into the mountains to reach it. These mountain roads were dangerous enough in the daylight, but they were downright deadly in the dark when the icy patches could hide in the shadows.

About fifteen minutes into the drive, Myka glanced over to see that Helena had fallen asleep. Her head was tilted back and her mouth was opened slightly. It was endearing to see such a strong, intimidating woman in such an innocent position. Myka reminded herself to focus on the road ahead and not run them off it while gazing at the woman in the passenger seat.

The car hit a small pothole and Helena stirred slightly, but settled back into her slumber. Not wanting to wake HG while she looked so peaceful, Myka tried harder to avoid the bumps in the road. Most of the trip went smoothly and Myka decided to wake HG when they were just more than five minutes from their destination to give her a chance at waking properly.

"Helena," Myka whispered softly while reaching out to lightly jostle her arm. "We're almost there. I thought you might want to gain your senses before we arrive."

"Hmmm? Oh, yes, of course. Thank you, darling," Helena mumbled back with sleep in her voice. Helena didn't mumble often, but when she did it was adorable.

Myka heard a yawn come from beside her and just smiled as she focused on driving for the next few minutes. Steering around a wide bend in the road, Myka saw a small, poorly lit sign ahead for The Greylock Lodge. "This must be it," she announced to her partner as she cut the wheel to the left and entered the narrow gravel driveway.

The accommodations appeared quaint and campy, with a surprising number of cars parked in the lot. There were a number of small cabins scattered around a larger building made of wooden logs. A neon 'open' sign was lit in the door of the larger building. Myka parked the car out front and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"You can wait here while I check in and retrieve the keys," Myka instructed Helena as she climbed out of the car. "This should only take a few minutes."

Myka strode to the front door with purpose. She was growing tired and more than ready to settle in for the night. As she opened the door, small bells jingled and she was enveloped by the warmth inside. The agent took in her surroundings quickly and first noticed that the lobby was heated by a fire in the hearth to the left. The back wall held trophy mounts of wildlife and there was an opening to the right, which appeared to lead toward a dining area. As she was trying to see more beyond the doorway, a small man in a flannel shirt appeared.

"Good evening," he greeted Myka with a smile that met his eyes. His skin was weathered and wrinkled, and Myka guessed that he spent most of his time in the great outdoors. "What can I do for ya?"

"Hello, I have reservations for Agent Wells and Agent Bering," Myka answered with her own smile.

"Ah, yes, you will be staying in one of our deluxe cabins," the man replied while reaching for a large book. "I just need you to sign in to the log here and I'll get your keys for you. Let's see...201...201...here we are! Keys to cabin 201." He turned back around and handed Myka the keys. "Cabin 201 is about 300 meters down the road to the right of the lodge. Enjoy your stay! We hope to see you in the restaurant for breakfast."

"Thank you," Myka offered, thinking that breakfast would be a good idea before getting started in the morning. She walked out the door and looked over at the road to their cabin. She did not realize they they would not be staying at a more traditional inn or motel, or even that she would be sharing her accommodations with HG. The sudden realization made her blush again and she was thankful for the lack of light as she climbed back into the car.

"Our cabin is just down that road," Myka pointed and put the car in gear. It was a short, bumpy ride before they were stopped in front of cabin number 201.

"Charming," HG mused as she exited the car and walked around the back to retrieve their luggage.

Myka carefully took the steps one at a time to reach the front door. She fit the key into the lock and turned. With a twist of her wrist, she pushed the door open. The inside of the cabin smelled like pine and cinnamon. The walls were adorned with art prints of nature and the furniture looked comfortable. It was a pleasant surprise for Myka who expected dirt and not much decoration. They weren't exaggerating about the 'deluxe' part, though, and she could see the surprise on Helena's face as well when she stepped inside.

"This is a better sort of charming than I was anticipating," Helena thought out loud, inspecting the interior as she searched for a place to store their luggage.

"Here, let me help with that," Myka offered, reaching for her suitcase and pulling it toward the back of the cabin. Helena followed and they were both surprised again to see a beautifully decorated king size bed in the center of a warm, cream colored room. Myka turned around to realize that the only other room in the cabin was the bathroom. They would either have to share the bed or one of them could sleep on the sofa. Immediately seeking to diffuse the tension that built inside her, Myka spoke up, "I'll take the sofa. It looks pretty comfy."

"Nonsense," Helena countered. "This bed is more than big enough for the two of us. We shall share it and neither of us will have to endure the night out there on the sofa."

Myka opened her mouth to protest, but closed it and kept quiet when Helena looked at her with resolve behind those dark eyes. She was an infuriatingly stubborn woman and Myka knew it was no use to argue. To be fair, she didn't really have the energy for it. Travel always made her weary.

"I promise I will stay to my side," Helena added with a mischievous smile, "if you want me to."

Myka thought it would be best if she didn't comment, so she just rolled her suitcase around to the other side of the bed and began searching for her pajamas.

"I'm going to have a shower right quick before we go to sleep," Helena announced as she turned and walked to the bathroom.

Myka quickly changed into her pajamas, pleased with her decision to pack the set she recently brought. They were made of soft flannel with a plaid pastel green pattern. After digging through the bag to find her book, Myka pulled back the blankets and crawled into the bed. She adjusted the pillows against the headboard and settled herself as close to the edge of the bed as possible. Accidentally against Helena was something she very much wanted to avoid.

Myka heard the shower stop running and the curtain open. She tried to focus on reading the book, but her mind was seized by the thought of Helena on the other side of that door, naked and wet. Suddenly, the door opened and the object of her thoughts was walking right toward her, wearing nothing but the small white towel wrapped around her torso. Myka noticed the way the water made Helena's skin glisten, and couldn't help herself when she thought about running her tongue over the single droplet that was sliding its way across a beautifully sculpted clavicle. Myka didn't have control over her eyes as they drank in the sight before them.

"Sorry, darling, I seemed to have forgotten my change of clothing," Helena commented casually, entirely aware of the effect that she was having on Myka. "I'll just be fetching those and leaving you back to your book."

Myka averted her eyes quickly and attempted to look unfazed, but knew she wasn't fooling anyone. Helena caught her ogling and they both knew it. Helena sauntered back to the bathroom and Myka tried to sink through the bed to hide her embarrassment.

When Helena returned, she was enveloped in a black silk robe that only reached down to mid-thigh. Myka awkwardly climbed back out of the bed. "I'm just going to wash my face and brush my teeth," she muttered, "then we can settle for the night." A cold shower wouldn't hurt, either, she thought to herself.

Feeling more refreshed, Myka returned to the bedroom. Helena was already in the bed with her damp hair splayed on the pillow behind her head. The contrast of Helena's dark hair on the cream colored bedding was stunning and Myka had to cast her eyes to the floor as she walked. She climbed back into the bed and again settled as close to the edge as possible.

"Ready to turn the lights out?" Myka asked HG who was angled ever so slightly toward her.

"Yes, darling," Helena replied with a yawn, "travel always does have a tendency to exhaust me."

Myka took a last glance at her partner before flipping the switch and plunging the room into darkness. She lay on her back for a while as Helena rolled onto her side and curled slightly, finding herself just a bit closer to Myka's warmth.

"Goodnight, Myka," Helena whispered softly.

"Goodnight, Helena," Myka whispered back.

It wasn't long before the smaller woman's breathing had evened out. Since Myka's eyes were adjusted to the lack of light, she capitalized on the moment. Rolling over to face HG, Myka watched her sleep until she, too, fell victim to the inevitable pull of unconsciousness.


	5. Soap and Snow

Waking up in a daze, Myka briefly forgot where she was. She was warm and comfortable, and that was enough to bring a smile to her lips. Opening her eyes to the dim light of dawn, Myka was enamoured by the sight in front of her. Helena's porcelain skin was framed by her dark hair against the pillow. Her mouth was slightly agape as she continued to slumber. At some point during the night, their hands found each other and their fingers intertwined slightly. Myka wasn't even surprised, though, as there was always an irresistible magnetic force between them.

Myka knew she should pull her hand back before Helena awoke, but she let herself indulge for just a few more moments. The heat radiating from Helena felt too enticing and Myka fought the urge to move closer. With a sigh, Myka slowly pulled her hand out of Helena's. She let her fingertips slide over the soft skin, not noticing that there had already been a change in her partner's consciousness minutes ago. Feeling the absence of the intimate touch, Helena opened her eyes and looked directly into Myka's with a lazy smile.

"Good morning," Myka said first, in an attempt at breaking the building tension.

"I surmise that you have had a good night's sleep, considering the smile I just glimpsed behind your eyes," Helena said, her own smile growing as Myka blushed and rolled out of bed. "I don't think I've slept so well since being released from my bronze state."

"Well, the bed was surprisingly comfortable," Myka tried.

"It was most agreeable, indeed," Helena returned with a look that pierced right through Myka's feeble excuse.

Diverting her attention, Myka started shuffling through her belongings. "I was thinking we should get dressed and head over to the lodge for breakfast," she suggested, not looking back to meet the eyes that she could feel on her back. "I need some coffee."

"Absolutely," Helena exclaimed. "I am feeling rather peckish."

"Great, I'm just going to hop in the shower," Myka informed her partner, "and then we can walk over. Doesn't seem necessary to drive that short distance."

Myka gathered the clothes she dug out of her luggage and Helena watched as she walked to the bathroom, her messy curls bouncing with each step. When she closed the door, Myka sighed and leaned forward onto the bathroom counter. Get a grip, Bering, she thought to herself. She reached for the faucet and splashed some cold water on her burning face. Her resolve was weakening and she didn't know how much more flirting she could take from Helena before giving in. She wanted to stay professional, but she had never before been this smitten for someone. Sure, she's had her crushes and her romances, but the feelings she carried for Helena G. Wells were beyond anything she's ever felt.

She spent over one hundred years in bronze, only to be released while I was an active agent at the Warehouse, Myka's thoughts continued. We compliment each other perfectly. I've spent enough time around endless wonder to know that this probably isn't a coincidence. I can't deny that we would be great together. Myka allowed her thoughts to drift further while turning the knob for the shower. She usually didn't let herself think about the pro list for starting something with Helena. Keeping her mind on the cons was much better for keeping herself in check, but how much longer could she continue playing that game?

The warm water cascaded down her body as she stepped into the shower. She let her mind drift to Helena's body being in the same place last night. Her desires got the best of her as Myka imagined Helena being in the shower with her; their bodies slipping across each other. Myka ran the bar of soap across her slick skin, losing her grip as her thoughts were on the raven haired woman in the next room. It shot out of her hand and bounced off the shower wall, hitting the tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner as it made its descent, causing a comically excessive amount of noise.

"Myka, darling" Helena asked with concern after bounding to the bathroom door, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Myka laughed, "the soap just got away from me."

"Do you need assistance in retrieving it?" Helena asked, not entirely joking..

"Ah, no, I think I can handle it," Myka quickly assured her partner, "but perhaps next time I'll just need someone else to hold the soap for me." Shocked at her bold statement, Myka's cheeks started burning. Clearly she was spending too much time around Helena's bold flirting.

"I might just be able to help with that, darling," Helena purred as she turned from the other side of the door, knowing she shouldn't push further just yet.

Myka reached for the knob and adjusted the water to a much cooler temperature. Her desire was burning hot and she needed to staunch it before she came face to face with her partner again.

The cool water helped, but not as much as she would have liked. Just get through this case, Bering. You can confront your feelings after the artifact has been neutralized. not a moment sooner, she chided herself.

She made quick work to get dressed and brush her teeth. She couldn't make eye contact with Helena just yet, but she kept her head up and focused on anything else.

"Ready to go?" Helena questioned, showing no indication that she wanted to bring up their flirting.

"Yeah, let me just grab my coat," Myka replied.

Sliding the zipper up, Myka walked to the front door and pulled it open.

"Oh! It snowed overnight," Myka declared excitedly while taking in the winter wonderland that surrounded the cabin. "I need to change into my boots."

"Yes, that may be for the best," Helena agreed as she eyed the eight inches of fresh snow on the ground. "Better yet, how about we stay inside the cabin all day instead of venturing out into this mess."

Myka looked at her partner and rolled her eyes.

"What? Have I not yet mentioned that I'm not entirely fond of this wretchedly cold substance?" Helena questioned with disdain.

"No, I'm not sure you have," Myka answered, walking back inside to fetch her boots, "and we'll have to fix that, but first I need breakfast and we need to get started on this case. We can't just stay inside and ignore that we are on duty and there is an artifact to collect."

"Fair enough," Helena conceded with a pitiful look, "it was at least worth a try."

With their boots laced up, the agents made their way through the snow toward the lodge. Snowflakes were still drifting slowly to the ground. It was that soft kind of snow that won't pack into a snowball, but looks magical as it flurries around in the light breeze.

Myka spun herself slowly with her face tilted up and her arms out, just drinking in the beauty and enjoying the feeling of the cold flakes as they landed on her cheeks. She stopped spinning to look at Helena who was studying her with awe.

"See, that's a much better way to look at the snow!" Myka teased.

"Darling, it is hardly the snow that I am looking at," Helena corrected.

"Well, either way I'm glad you're being less grumpy," Myka returned with a shy attempt at snark, her eyes cast down at the snow around her boots.

There was an extra bounce in her step when Myka turned back to the direction of the lodge. Helena's attention was making her feel more at ease about the possibility of something between them. Between that and the snow, her spirits were flying pretty high.

Tromping through the snow, Helena caught up to Myka and their arms brushed lightly. It was a soft touch between two coats, but it was enough to provide a sense of comfort for both women. The forest was mostly silent aside from the sounds of their walking and the chirping of birds. Myka basked in the serenity.

When they reached the front door, Helena held it open for Myka to enter first. Once again, Myka was enveloped by the warmth from within and she could hear the bustling sounds from the kitchen as breakfast was prepared. She walked toward the dining area with Helena a step and a half behind her and paused at the sign that instructed visitors to seat themselves.

Turning to Helena, Myka queried, "where do you want to sit?"

Helena surveyed the dining room. There was an older couple at one of the front tables and a group of four twenty-somethings at the back to the left. "Well, considering how much you seem to smile at the snow, I suppose we ought to sit over there by the window," Helena suggested with a nod toward the windowed wall to the right. "Shall we?"

Myka led the way to a small table by the window and sat down. Between the snow and the woman settling down across the table, Myka had a phenomenal view. In no more than a minute, they were greeted by a petite woman with menus and a name tag that introduced her as Louise.

"Good morning, dears, what can I get ya to drink?"

"I will have tea and my partner here will have coffee," Helena ordered with authority. Louise looked between them, an eyebrow slightly raised at the word partner.

Realizing how the woman must have interpreted Helena's statement, Myka awkwardly chimed in, "work partners. We're agents. On official government business."

"Of course, dear," Louise said. "I'll go fetch your drinks while you take a minute to look over the menu."

When Myka saw how much Helena was enjoying her discomfort, she intentionally bumped her foot. Helena raised her eyebrows. "Playing footsie under the table, now, are we? That does not seem very professional for an agent on official government business."

"Oh hush. Just look at the menu and let me order my own food."

After a few more minutes, Louise returned with the beverages and set them on the table.

"And what will we be having to eat, agents?"

Before her partner could speak up, Myka quickly asked for an order of french toast with a side of bacon. Helena requested the scrambled eggs with bacon and hash browns.

"I'll get your order to the kitchen and it'll be out in a jiff."

Helena sipped her tea and grimaced, "I sure hope the food is better than the tea."

Myka's coffee wasn't very good either, but she was always better at keeping her opinions to herself.

"Ah, brilliant, and there it is," she announced as Louise returned with full plates of food that, at the least, smelled good.

The agents were quiet as they devoured their meals. Helena grumbled things about 'seasoning' and 'flavor' between bites, but Myka didn't bother to respond. Her french toast was delicious and she wasn't going let Helena's high standards put a damper on her breakfast.


	6. Excellent Company

After returning to the cabin, Myka searched frantically through her bag for her Farnsworth. She needed to check in with Artie before setting out for the mountain, but couldn't find the Farnsworth anywhere. Pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket, she quickly texted Claudia, "can you see if my Farnsworth is in my room at the B&B?"

"Yep yep just be a sec." A minute later, "found it under blanket on ur bed."

"Ugh I can't believe I forgot it. Thanks Claud. Tell Artie we're getting ready to drive up the mountain to bag the artifact."

"u got it"

Myka mentally berated herself for being so forgetful. It wasn't like her to forget, especially something so vital to her job. She was a bit scatterbrained yesterday, largely due to Helena's presence. Luckily she had her cellphone and Tesla to get through this case. Artie said it should be an easy retrieval, but she still didn't feel very comfortable without the Farnsworth.

"Helena," she called out to the woman in the bathroom, "I've somehow forgotten my Farnsworth, so make sure your cell has a full charge. I'll be bringing the car charger, as well."

Popping her head around the bathroom door frame, Helena gave Myka an inquisitive look.

"Don't ask. I'm already upset with myself about it."

Helena granted a short nod and left it at that.

Myka gathered the items she actually remembered to pack and loaded them into the SUV, still ruminating about the Farnsworth.

They climbed into the vehicle and Myka grabbed the GPS unit. Opening her case file, she found and entered the coordinates to the cave containing the artifact.

Myka switched the car to four wheel drive and put it in gear. "It's a fifty minute drive through the winding mountain roads, but considering the snow, I'm sure it will take longer than that," Myka informed Helena. "The roads are sure to be a mess."

"Not to worry, darling," Helena replied, "with such excellent company I am certain that it will seem like no time at all. Plus, I've got these games on my phone to keep me occupied!"

"Don't forget to keep your phone plugged in so you don't kill it."

Helena spent a comical amount of time playing games on her phone. Despite the endless wonder she encountered at the Warehouse, she was still amazed at the ability to take such a small device and cram it full of games, music, and right about anything else she wanted.

"I still don't entirely understand this 'Words With Friends'," Helena mused. "I mean, I understand the concept of the game and I am rather adept, but these people are not my friends. I have no idea who this crazycatlady812 could be. Certainly she doesn't even intend to befriend me because she started spewing profanity and false accusations at me. I do not cheat, I merely have an exceptional grasp on the immensity of the English language."

"There are some people who use a secondary app to generate words with the letters they have," Myka explained, "because they struggle to come up with good words on their own. I have no doubt that you are not cheating, but since most people do not have your IQ, some feel like they need to cheat to succeed."

"Oh. It's unfortunate that they feel too inadequate to handle the game without resorting to such trickery, but I am offended that this cat lady thinks I would do such a thing."

"She doesn't know you any better than you know her," Myka mentioned, "but if she met you she would immediately see that you have no need for cheating."

"Thank you, darling, for your understanding of my brilliance," Helena stated confidently. "I still don't like her very much. The profanity was a bit over the top and yet not particularly colorful."

"Try starting a game with someone else, then," Myka suggested. "Perhaps they will be a better match, or at least a bit more graceful at losing."

"I suppose you're right," Helena sighed, "this woman is not a good match for me. Oh, I know! We should start a game between ourselves after we return from retrieving the artifact!"

"I'm not actually a big fan of Words With Friends," Myka replied. "It's too impersonal. I would much rather break out my Scrabble board and a bottle of wine."

"Scrabble?"

"It's basically the same thing, but the original version before everything went digital," Myka explained. "You have a game board and physically put the wooden tiles in the correct order. You have to look up words in the dictionary if you aren't certain about the spelling or if they are even an actual word. It takes more thought than having a computer tell you that the word you randomly made up is not real. It takes longer to play, but it's a better experience. It's tangible," she finished succinctly with a shrug.

"That sounds much more lovely," Helena agreed, "especially with the wine. It's a date."

Myka gave Helena a quick glance and a blushing smile before diverting her attention back to the road. Sometimes she got a bit passionate about things like this and embarrassed herself as she got lost in her enthusiasm.

Helena kept playing around on her phone, bouncing between games, but never seeming entirely interested in any for longer than a few minutes.

Myka concentrated on the road as she continued to drive. The roads were mostly plowed and clear at the foot of the mountain, but the condition of the pavement was deteriorating quickly as she drove farther up. Snow began to fall again and the wind picked up, whipping it around the car. They were only about five minutes from the coordinates of the cave and Myka was hoping they could quickly retrieve the artifact and make it back to the cabin before the roads were almost too difficult to navigate. Four wheel drive was helpful, but it could still get dangerous.

The GPS instructed Myka to turn left onto a gravel road ahead. She stopped before a chain stretched across her path. There was a bent sign to the right side. Putting the SUV into park, Myka unbuckled and opened the door to take a closer look. The sign announced that it was property of the U.S. Government and that trespassers will be prosecuted. No need to worry about that, Myka thought as she turned her attention to the chain and Helena slowly approached. It was held in place by a simple padlock on one side.

"Not to worry," Helena assured as she pulled a small device from her pocket, "we'll be on our way in just a moment." She inserted the contraption into the lock and it popped open with ease. "What?" she questioned as Myka looked at the object in her hand, "you know I like to keep my inventions handy for times such as this."

"Yeah, I know," Myka returned with a distant look as she reminisced about her first encounter with HG's grappling hook. To be fair, she truly was coveting the grappler. It was a beautiful piece of work and it prevented her from being run over by that truck.

Helena saw the look in her eyes and inquired, "where did you go, just then?"

"Ah, honestly, I was thinking about that time you saved me with the grappler," Myka chuckled, walking back and climbing into the car. "I think I've had enough experiences with your inventions to know that they're worth bringing along."

With a hint of rare vulnerability, Helena looked up at Myka. "You know, you have always been very trusting of me, and I'm still not entirely certain why. You were ready to trust me when no one else would and I can't thank you enough for that. After the horrors I've faced, including my own self, it's refreshing to know that one person in this world has unwavering faith in me. You help keep me on track when my thoughts go to dark places."

"You've come a long way, Helena," Myka reassured, looking straight into her partner's eyes. Slowly, but confidently, she reached across the center console and placed her hand over Helena's resting above her knee. "I'm always here to keep you grounded," she added with a gentle squeeze and brushed her thumb softly across Helena's knuckles. It was a tender moment and neither woman wanted it to end, but Myka pulled her hand back and placed it on the gear shift. The snow was still coming down and they still had an artifact to neutralize.


	7. Snag, Bag, and Stalag...mite

The cave was set deep into the mountain, dark and chilling. Armed with their flashlights, Teslas, gloves, and a neutralizer bag, the agents carefully made their way into the cave. It opened up to an anteroom with a pathway leading from the back wall. This path lead downward into a large cavern full of stalactites and stalagmites.

Myka ran her hand along the walls that appeared to be glittering. "Wow, this must be what the man was mining," she said in awe. "It's beautiful."

"Positively captivating," Helena agreed, "but it seems that our artifact is over there." Capturing Myka's attention, Helena placed her hand at her partner's elbow and pointed farther down the cavern.

Myka's eyes followed the path that sloped downward at an uncomfortable angle. "This should be fun," she sighed, "happen to have that grappler with you?"

"It's in the car, of course," Helena stated matter-of-factly, "but it's not going to help us here. I don't see a place to shoot it where I can trust that it will support the weight of even just one of us."

"Right. Let's get moving, then. We'll just have to use the stalagmites for support and hope we don't slip and get impaled on one," she cautioned after her first few steps on the icy incline. "At least they aren't as pointy as the stalactites."

They made their way along without incident until they were a few meters from the mining pick. Myka misstepped and Helena instantly reached out to stabilize her, but it backfired and they both fell to the ground. Helena landed on top of Myka with her knee slamming onto the icy stone..

"Oh dear, are you quite alright, Myka?" she fretted immediately.

"Ow, yeah, aside from a bruised butt, I think I'll be fine," Myka groaned. "How about you?"

"My knee took the brunt of my fall so that you did not have to," Helena hissed as she tried moving her leg to roll off Myka. "I think I'm going to need a moment more."

"Please, take your time, that had to hurt pretty badly," Myka sympathized. She shifted herself to better hold Helena's weight and heard a crunching sound from under her butt. "Uh oh. Um, HG, would you be able to reach around and grab my phone from my back pocket?"

"Darling, I'd have to be out of my mind to miss an opportunity to reach for your bum," Helena smirked. Since her right arm was supporting her body, she used her left hand to reach around. It brought her face close to Myka's chest, causing her heart to race.

The combination of Helena's weight pressing along her body and her hand exploring the back of her pants for the phone was almost enough for Myka to lose control. She lifted herself briefly enough for HG to free the phone, and gasped sharply when it provided contact between the artificer's hip and an intimate part of Myka's anatomy.

Helena whispered a quick "oops" before rolling herself to the side of Myka. She inspected the phone and offered her condolences. The screen was shattered and there was no hope for it to function. Myka just sighed.

"Do you think you'll be able to get up now?" Myka asked her partner.

"Yes, I do believe the pain has subsided enough," she replied, moving into a sitting position and standing carefully.

Myka dug through her pack for her neutralizer gloves and bag. She slowly stood and approached the mining pick. Lifting it from the stone it sat upon, Myka turned her head and dropped it into the neutralizer bag where it popped and zapped for a moment before settling down.

"Okay, aside from the environmental factors and our own clumsiness, that really wasn't so difficult," Myka observed while stowing the artifact in her pack.

"Excuse me, but I do recall that it was your clumsiness that brought us both to the ground," Helena retorted cheekily.

Myka shot Helena a playful glare and brushed past her to make it out of the cave. They made it to the mouth of the cave without any slips or slides, but were equally surprised and worried to see that the SUV was covered in another seven inches of fresh snow.

"Bollocks," Helena cursed, "how long were we even in there?"

"It was about three hours. We better get going," Myka insisted, "this is going to be a very difficult trek back to the cabin."

Myka climbed back into the driver's seat and Helena tossed their equipment into the backseat.

As expected, the road was even worse than when they climbed their way up the mountain. Myka could feel the tires slipping if she tried to go over 20 miles per hour. She held tightly onto the steering wheel, knuckles white and eyes focused hard on the road.

Helena kept quiet in the passenger seat, also keeping her eyes on the road ahead. The snow was falling faster and visibility was limited. Seeing that they were approaching a sharp left curve, Myka eased up on the gas so she could navigate it slowly.

"Myka!" Helena shouted. "Tree!"

By the time Myka could react, it was too late. As soon as she slammed on the brakes, she knew it was exactly the wrong thing to do. If they hit the tree, it would have been at a fairly low speed. Instead, the sudden application of the brakes caused the SUV to fishtail as the tires lost traction.

"Hang on," Myka said as she tried steering into the skid. The car made its way off the road and bounced over the rocks beyond its edge until it came to a stop.

Catching their breath from the scare, the agents looked at each other to be sure neither was hurt. The jostling didn't feel great for Helena's previously injured knee or Myka's bruised behind, but they were both glad to be in one piece.

"I was most certain the car would flip over," Helena thought out loud, feeling relief.

"All of the things I've encountered as a Warehouse agent, and that was still more scary than I would have liked," Myka added.

The women sat in silence for a moment, just regaining their composure from the experience. "Ready to get going?" Myka asked her partner, who just nodded.

Myka worked to get the car back on the road, but it was settled on rocks and snow and took a few tries to get the car moving in the right direction. She steered to go around the fallen tree when she noticed a blinking red icon on the dashboard. The engine temperature warning was flashing and Myka quickly turned the key in the ignition. She read enough books to know that this wasn't good. "Great, we won't be able to drive this thing far if it's overheating."

"Let's hop out and take a look," Helena suggested. "Perhaps it is something I can fix with my tinkering."

"I hope so," she said while pulling the lever to pop the hood and unbuckling her seatbelt once again.

Carefully stepping out of the vehicle, Myka sunk into the snow. The falling flakes swirled as the icy wind swept them through the air and Myka pulled the collar of her coat closer to her neck. Helena shuffled her feet through the snow as she made her way toward the front of the vehicle, her silky raven hair whipping around her face.

"Righty ho then, let's see what we've got under here first," Helena pushed the snow away with foot before peeking under the car. "It appears that those rocks have harmed the underside of our automobile."

There was a wet spot and the snow around it was tinged neon green.

"Oh dear," Helena worried as she looked at the car above the spot, "a hose has disconnected. I presume that the substance below the vehicle is coolant. I can reconnect the hose, but it is likely that all of the coolant is lost to us. If the car was not stocked with an extra bottle of coolant, the engine will continue to overheat."

"I don't recall seeing more coolant in the back, but I'll check again. See what you can do about reconnecting the hose and we'll go from there."

Helena didn't have much trouble getting the hose back into place, but as Myka worried, they didn't have any coolant.

"Okay, so now what do we do?" Myka wondered out loud. "We can try to keep driving it, despite knowing that it's basically going to destroy the car, or we can call for a tow truck and wait here until it shows up...whenever that may be."

"Well, I would prefer if we did not have to wait here in the cold for some man named Bob in a trucker cap to rescue us," Helena decided stubbornly. "I think we should drive the car to the filling station that we passed on the way up here. I'm most certain that we can find coolant there, then we'll be back on our way."

Myka wasn't entirely sure this was the best idea, but she went along because Helena, at least, seemed very sure of it. She just figured they could resort to the other option if this didn't pan out well.


	8. Useless Things

Since it was Helena's plan, Myka let her have a turn at driving. Her nerves were frayed and a respite from the tense responsibility was welcome. They cranked up the car's heating system to its maximum in an attempt to pull heat away from the engine. The temperature warning light continued to flash as Helena ignored it and navigated her way onto the road.

Myka still didn't feel confident about pushing the car beyond its capabilities. By her estimation, the gas station was at least 15 miles away. Since it was unsafe to drive faster than 20 miles per hour in the snow, it would take them 45 minutes to reach it. She really didn't like those numbers because the car's engine probably could not handle being overheated for that long.

Myka watched Helena as she guided the vehicle. The face she made when she was entirely concentrating on something was enjoyable. Her beautifully sculpted eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed. It was a necessary distraction from their current troubles and Myka was slowly feeling more comfortable with letting herself indulge in these moments.

"I can feel your eyes on me, darling," Helena mused with a crooked smile.

"Wasn't really trying to hide it," Myka shot back with her her own smile, "but you better keep your own eyes on the road."

"I wouldn't dare to look away if it meant putting you in danger. I'll just have to make up for it later and gaze at you twice as long."

"Fair enough, I think I can allow you that small reward if it means you'll get us back safely." Myka knew Helena could out-flirt her with ease, but she was pleased with gaining confidence in her own attempts.

"Well, I often do work best with a goal in mind."

"I'll be sure to remember that," Myka vowed, "for future reference."

"I dare say, you seem a bit emboldened as of late. I quite enjoy it."

"You're an incorrigible flirt, so I figured might as well try to play back at your games," Myka admitted. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"Darling, you have always had a penchant for following the rules to a T. Since when did you suddenly start living by that ridiculous motto?"

"Clearly you have been terrible influence on me," Myka returned. "I've been breaking rules for you from the start."

"Then by all means, please continue," Helena urged, "with both the rule breaking and the flirting."

"I think for right now, we just need to focus on making it back to the cabin."

"Of course, darling."

As if on cue, the engine of the car seized up, no longer able to handle the excessive heat.

"Bollocks!" HG shouted as she tried turning the key in the ignition again and again to no avail.

"Helena, I don't think that's going to help."

With an exasperated sigh, the agent halted her efforts to restart the car. "American rubbish, this is. If I built a vehicle it would certainly be able to handle more than a slight fever," she ranted.

"I don't think throwing a fit is going to help the car start either," Myka tried joking to ease her partner back down.

"A fit?" Helena objected sharply, missing the humor. "This is not a fit. I do not throw fits. Even if one wanted to categorize this as a fit, it would be completely, utterly justified. Those imbeciles at the rental agency knowingly placed us into an unsuitable means of transportation and I will not stand idly as it puts you in harm's way."

"Helena, please," Myka pleaded, reaching to her partner's hand that just slammed against the steering wheel, pulling it into her own. Sometimes she had to keep Helena grounded. After so much time trapped in bronze with only herself and her anger, it was understandable that Helena slipped away from time to time. Myka did her best to be there when it happened and conveyed her sympathy.

Myka saw the spark of clarity in Helena's eyes. With a gentle squeeze of her partner's fingers, Helena uttered a quiet, "thank you," and leaned back against the headrest as she closed her eyes briefly. These moments happened often enough that there was always an unspoken agreement of apology and acceptance.

Myka returned her thoughts to the car conundrum while still lightly grasping her partner's hand. She wasn't ready to let go and she didn't think Helena was ready for her to let go, either.

Breaking the silence that had settled around them, Myka offered to use Helena's phone to call the rental agency for assistance.

"Considering how far we are from the airport, I guess we'll have to see if they can at least call for a local towing company to come out and get us back to the cabin. I don't see how they can get a replacement car to us out here, but I don't want to go around them and call an external towing company first. I assume the fine print of the rental contract has some issue with that," Myka explained. "Where's your phone?"

"Ah, right, I put it in the glove compartment before we went to retrieve the artifact from the cave. These cellular telephones are too large to fit into the tiny pockets of modern garments. Seems terribly counterproductive to make a portable device that is hardly small enough to tote around with ease," she mused.

"Ugh, tell me about it," Myka replied as she open the glove compartment, "but even if phones weren't being made bigger each generation, you'd think that women's clothing could at least be made with larger pockets. I don't even understand why someone would think that they are big enough to actually function. And don't even get me started on fake pockets!"

"Why on earth would anyone think women want false pockets? It was bloody awful enough when it was not socially acceptable for a woman to wear trousers. Now that it's perfectly normal, I just don't understand why someone would want to take that functionality away from them. Sometimes I feel like I just don't understand anything about this modern world."

When Myka pressed the home button on the phone, the screen did not light up. "Huh. Did you turn it off?"

"No, not that I can recall. I unplugged it from the charger and placed it directly into the compartment. Claudia warned me never to leave an electronic device in plain view inside a vehicle."

Holding down the power button, Myka tried restarting the phone. It wasn't responding at all. "Helena, I think the battery's dead."

"That can't be possible!" Helena said with disbelief. "I kept it plugged into the charger just as you instructed."

"I know this is a stupid question, but um, did you have the charger plugged into the car?" Myka asked, chewing her lip.

"Of course I had the bloody thing plugged into the car! I am not so daft as to forget that."

"I know, I know," Myka reassured, "it's just one of those questions that has to be asked in situations like this."

Digging into the center console for the phone charger, Helena found what she was looking for and pulled it out. She plugged it into the power receptacle and reached over to Myka for the phone. When the phone was plugged in, Myka expected it to come back to life, but nothing happened. The charger was supposed to have a blue light to indicate that it was receiving power, but not even that came on.

"The blasted thing is broken!" Helena defended, seemingly on the verge of another rant. "More American rubbish!"

"To be fair, that was probably made in China," Myka interjected with a laugh to lighten the mood.

Helena caught the joke this time and offered her own chuckle to show that she wasn't going to lose herself again.

"If I hadn't gotten so caught up in those frivolous games, it would likely still be operating," she admitted while staring at her lifeless phone.

"It's not your fault that the charger was a piece of junk."

"No, but I could have at least noticed that it wasn't functioning. Now we have two useless telephones and a useless automobile and I haven't the slightest idea how to get us out of this mess," Helena confessed.

"Well, since we can't call for help, I guess we're going to have to walk for it," Myka suggested. "I don't see any other option, aside from freezing to death in this car."

"Right. Well, I'm not terribly fond of the latter option. Since we were already on our way to the filling station, we should continue and make our call from their telephone. We can wait there for help to arrive."

"Sounds good," Myka agreed. "I mean, except for the part where we have to walk miles through the freezing wind and snow."


	9. Holding On

The agents packed their essential belongings into Myka's bag and bundled up for the cold. Although they had their hats, gloves, and coats, they weren't dressed properly enough for the brutal chill. The trek was going to be physically taxing, which would keep them warmer, but they didn't have any food to replenish the energy they'd be burning through. Helena had a half empty bottle of water left from the airport, but that was all.

Myka estimated that they were still about ten miles away from the gas station. On a good day, that would probably take about three hours to walk. Today, however, was not a good day. Today was an awful day full of problems, including a large accumulation of snow to hinder them. It would probably take at least five hours to get there in these conditions. The sun would be going down within the next hour, making the hike even more difficult and dangerous.

Myka was growing increasingly more worried as she continued to calculate and assess what they were dealing with. She decided that it was probably best to stop thinking about it for the moment. Unless she could wish up some miracle that melts away the snow and provides them with an easy way back to the cabin, they were kind of screwed and nothing was going to change by dwelling on it. Always a bit of an overthinker, Myka knew that not thinking about something was much easier said than done, so she thought up a diversion instead.

Putting her plan into action, Myka feigned a sigh and told Helena, "my sock slipped off my heel. I need to adjust it back into place, but you can keep walking and I'll catch up in a few seconds."

Helena nodded, appearing slightly confused. Myka knew it probably sounded a bit odd, but she needed Helena to keep walking ahead. After a few steps, Helena looked back as Myka was crouching down to the snow. Myka gave an awkward smile and continued to go about 'fixing her sock', when in reality, she was trying to make a snowball. She knew it was silly and juvenile, but Helena's experience with the snow was terrible thus far. If Myka was honest with herself, even she was beginning to feel a rising hatred for the snow that she usually loved so much. They both needed a moment of fun after the troublesome turn of events.

When Helena turned forward and kept trudging through the snow, Myka quickly scooped up some snow and patted it into the rough shape of a ball. Standing up and pulling her arm back to throw, Myka really hoped that her aim was on point. She wasn't let down when she let the snowball fly and it hit Helena square between the shoulders with a thump.

Helena turned around quickly with surprise to see the broad, childish grin on Myka's face as she laughed and threw another snowball. The second shot hit Helena's left shoulder, as she let out an incredulous, "Myka!"

Myka's laughter grew even more at the look on her partner's face. "You better run!" she shouted.

"Have you ever known me to run from a challenge?" Helena tossed back. "You may have started this war, but I shall prevail. Perhaps you should be the one running."

Myka launched another snowball that grazed Helena's arm as she tried to avoid it.

"If you want a chance at winning this, maybe you should at least try running your mouth a bit less," Myka snarked playfully.

"Oh, you are going to regret that," Helena threatened with a glint of mischief in her eyes as she dashed for the trees to take cover.

Myka sat her backpack on the ground and sought out her own place to take cover. Before she could find a suitable bunker, a snowball came flying from behind a tree, signalling the start of HG's assault.

"You're going to need much better aim than that!" Myka teased as she easily dodged the snowball. Moments later, a second snowball flew right into her thigh.

"Just warming up my throwing arm, darling!"

They maneuvered through the snow, hiding from tree to tree, trying to score as many shots as possible. Both very headstrong, neither woman wanted to submit to the other, but Myka knew they really needed to get back on track.

"Okay! Let's call for a peace treaty and get back on the road," Myka shouted across the trees.

"Is that an admission of surrender?"

"Not even! This was a great way to warm up, and a necessary stress reliever, but I don't think it's wise to prolong our time in this cold."

"Of course, I do agree," Helena conceded, stepping out from behind a large oak tree. "I suppose we'll just have to recommence this war with another battle at a more fit time."

Thinking that the issue was settled, Myka strode out into the open, making her way to the bag she sat by the road. As soon as her back was turned, she heard a mischievous laugh and a soft whir as one last snowball collided with her backside. I should have known better, Myka thought as she brushed the snow from her pants.

"Sorry, darling, I couldn't resist," Helena apologized without a hint of true remorse. Myka gave her a pointed look, followed by a traitorous smile as her partner caught up to her. She loved that Helena was having fun in the snow, even if it was at her own expense.

"Come on, you, we've got a ways to go and not nearly enough daylight to cover it." Myka leaned over to scoop up the backpack as she strolled past it. She stepped awkwardly on a rock beneath the snow and lost her footing. Right as Myka was about to fall, Helena reacted, reaching her hands to Myka's hips and pulling with enough strength to keep her upright. The sudden change in directional force, however, was enough to send Myka even more off balance. Her body collided with Helena's and they both fell backwards to the ground where the snow was deep enough to absorb the brunt of the impact.

"Darling," Helena began, short of breath from the collision, "I know you have previously asserted that I am an agent under you, but there are much more enjoyable ways to bring that to literal fruition."

"I see that our fall hasn't bruised your ego," Myka grunted.

"Well, of course not," Helena noted, "an ego cannot be physically harmed. It is a part of the psyche."

"That was supposed to be a joke."

"Oh, right! Not to worry dear, I understand your need to use humor to deflect our palpable sexual tension."

In that moment, Myka realized that her partner's hands were still holding firmly onto her hips. She was caught awkwardly between not wanting to move from their near embrace and not wanting to stay so close to the woman who made her lose control of herself.

"Can you give me a push back up to my feet? I can't move if you're going to keep holding my hips like that," Myka gulped.

"Perhaps I don't want you to move," Helena murmured from beneath her.

"Honestly, I'm not sure I want to move either, but we really really need to keep moving forward so we don't freeze to death," Myka replied frankly.

"Fair enough," Helena sighed, readjusting her hands and giving her partner a firm push on the bum. When Myka was upright, she turned and reached a hand down for Helena to use as leverage. She rose to her feet, invading Myka's space and not letting go of her hand. "I'm not sure I can trust you to walk safely without falling again, so I'll just be keeping a hold on this for good measure."

"Fair enough," Myka repeated her partner's words back to her. "Let's go."

Hand in hand, the agents returned to the road. Myka felt like a schoolgirl holding her crush's hand for the first time. It lifted her spirits and brought a goofy smile to her face. She was completely smitten and trying to hide it right now would take more energy than she had to spare.

The sun was going down and the windchill grew more bitter. The women leaned closer to each other without making the conscious decision to do so, hands still firmly linked together.

"Helena, I'm beginning to worry," Myka admitted, looking down at her feet as the snow crunched beneath her boots.

"Myka, my darling, you've been worrying since we left the cave. I've watched that worry grow bigger within you with each passing moment." Turning to look her partner straight in the eyes, Helena tried to offer comfort, but instead conveyed the concern that was hiding deep within her own eyes.

"It's going to be bad when the sun sets," Myka quavered. "We won't have much light from the moon tonight. Trying to navigate will be tricky and there are a lot of ledges along this road. I don't think it will be wise to walk through the night, even with our flashlights."

"I think we should begin seeking out shelter of some sort," Helena agreed. "Keep your eyes peeled for overhangs, caves, closely gathered trees, and right about anything else that may offer protection from the wind and falling snow."

Myka gripped her partner's hand tighter. She was usually one to take charge, but the events of the day were wearing at her nerves and it was a relief to have someone else step up and take the lead.


	10. Where to Start

Myka was searching for shelter to their right while Helena was looking to their left. It was getting more difficult to walk through the snow as exhaustion set in. She stopped abruptly when she thought she saw something off to the side of the road. Helena's hand pulled away as she was unable to slow her momentum. She turned back around to see what had caused Myka's sudden halt. Myka stood there, loose curls blowing in the wind and laced with barely visible snowflakes. The sun was setting behind her and it created a slight glow around her silhouette. The image was stunning and Helena lost herself for a moment, wanting to reach out and adjust a stray tendril back into its rightful place with the rest of Myka's incredible mane of hair.

"There's a trail map over that way," Myka shouted over the wind as she pointed, breaking Helena's reverie. She found a burst of energy and quickly trudged through the snow to reach it. Helena tried to catch up as Myka quickly processed the image of the map. "There's a trail right here. If we walk about 300 meters down the trail, there should be a lean-to where we can stay for the night."

"Is it wise to venture away from the main road?" Helena questioned, squinting at the map.

"I don't know. Probably not," Myka concluded, "but I have a feeling that lean-to is the best thing we're going to find for shelter before it's too dark to see where we are going. If we move quickly, we can get there with just enough light left."

Helena was hesitant. She knew how easy it was to lose one's bearings in the woods, especially in the snow. The trail was faint at best. They would have to follow the blaze markers and hope that the lean-to was actually still there. However, continuing to walk along the road was likely not going to help them find shelter. Nodding at Myka, Helena conceded that it was their best option.

They walked down the undisturbed trail with a newfound determination. Neither agent was out of shape, but trying to make quick work of it was extremely tiresome. They could see the yellow blaze markers on the trees and pressed forward, flashlights in hand. The sun hadn't set completely, but the trees shrouded them in near darkness.

"I think I see it up ahead," Myka announced, short of breath.

Helena sniffled, "it bloody well better be. I'm knackered and I can't feel my face."

They moved closer, flashlights shining on the shelter. A simple structure made from wood, it was bigger than Myka expected. If the wind changed direction, it could still blow the snow in through the front, but at least they would have three walls, a roof, and a floor raised above the ground. It would have been impossible to stay warm while laying on a bed of snow, so this was far better than nothing.

Myka took a big step up onto the shelter's floor and moved toward the back. Feeling an instant relief from the icy wind, she leaned against the wall and let herself sink to the hard floor. Helena was quick to join her and they sat quietly with their arms touching, listening to the wind and the sound of each other's labored breathing.

"I'd start a fire if I thought it was possible," Myka muttered dejectedly. "Even if we could find enough wood to burn under all this snow, it'll be frozen and the wind would blow out any chance at a flame, anyway."

"We'll just have to use other means of staying warm," Helena nudged into her partner, "such as sharing body heat."

Myka raised an eyebrow to Helena's persistence at flirting despite the severity of their predicament. She started digging through her backpack. "I do at least have a space blanket in here."

"Space blanket?" Helena questioned with curiosity.

"It's a thin, lightweight blanket made of plastic and coated with aluminum," Myka explained as she removed the blanket from its packaging. "They're often included in first aid and survival kits because its airtight construction traps body heat, resists wind and water, and helps counter hypothermia. They were originally developed by NASA for the United States space program."

"Fascinating," Helena exclaimed while running her hands over the material. "that such a thin medium can work so well in preventing thermal convection from the body to the surrounding atmosphere! I am eager to utilize it!"

"I've spent more than enough time in the cold today. I'm pretty eager to use it, too." Myka had a few prior experiences with space blankets and already knew how much of a difference it would make.

"Aces! Do you want to be the big spoon, or shall I?" Helena teased.

Regardless of the ease and comfort to their earlier hand holding, Myka was still adjusting to the changes in the dynamic to their partnership. For what seemed like the millionth time, she blushed and looked away awkwardly. The shelter was dark even with their flashlights, but Helena would still know she was blushing. The artificer had an uncanny ability of knowing exactly what effect she was causing on her partner. Myka's thoughts drifted and she blushed even more furiously when she imagined how that ability would contribute to their experiences in bed. Really smart, Bering, she berated herself, let yourself think about sex right before you're about to get up close with Helena under a damn space blanket.

Myka cleared her throat when she realized how suspicious her extended silence must have been.

"I guess it makes more sense for me to be the big spoon since I'm taller," Myka finally answered as matter-of-factly as she could manage.

"Darling, just because you are taller does not mean I can't warm you properly," Helena started with a glint in her eye, but changed her tone to be more serious. "However, since you have a preference for control, I am perfectly content with letting you have that choice in our positioning. I sincerely have no intention of making you uncomfortable. That would be most regrettable."

"Thanks for that. It's not that I'd be uncomfortable, per se," Myka tried to explain, "this is just very new territory for me."

"Indeed, I've never been to these mountains, either," Helena jested to lighten the tension in Myka.

Swatting playfully at Helena's arm, Myka returned, "that's not what I meant and you know it!"

"I know, darling. You are just always so serious when it comes to us...whatever it is that we may be."

"I just don't even know where to start. With you. WIth this. With anything. You're quite the enigma."

"We do have an interesting, albeit relatively short history, but there shouldn't be anything confounding about my feelings for you, Myka. I don't hold myself back very often. I generally take what I want, when I want it. But for you, I behave myself...somewhat," she added. "I have every bit of faith that waiting for you to sort your feelings will be entirely worth each moment it requires. Now, I'm rather fatigued, so I'm just going to lay here under the space blanket and I shall leave you with your thoughts until you decide how to proceed with sleeping arrangements for tonight. I can assure you that anything you choose with be sufficiently pleasing for me."

Myka wasn't accustomed to receiving such raw sincerity from Helena about the two of them. There was always banter and flirting with plenty of lingering looks and unnecessary touches, but it was endearing to receive such a heartfelt admission.

Not sure what to do at first, Myka watched the outline of Helena's figure settle itself onto the floor of the shelter. Feeling emboldened, Myka settled herself onto the floor and scooted as close as she could to her partner's backside after she lifted the blanket over her own body.

"Goodnight, my darling," Helena whispered, clearly being lulled to sleep. "I quite...like…"

And like that, Helena had already fallen asleep. Myka was concerned that her heart was beating too fast for her to calm and fall asleep in a timely manner. She leaned her face forward and breathed deeply. Even through the day's events, Helena's hair still smelled like her apple scented shampoo. Myka gently draped an arm over her partner's waist and brushed her lips over the silky strands of hair. It wasn't long before she, too, drifted off to sleep.


	11. Hard Surfaces and Self Control

Myka awoke to the glow of the rising sun, urging from beyond her eyelids. She was greeted again by the scent of apples and the soft snoring that came from her partner. Her face was nestled into Helena's hair and her arm was still draped over her waist. She let herself revel in the comfort of Helena's body, eyes still closed, feeling that there was no space between them except for the barrier caused by their clothing.

Helena stirred in her sleep and pulled Myka's arm close up under her chin. Feeling a strong desire to see her partner in such a position, Myka finally opened her eyes. The light from the sun was already blinding as it reflected off the bright white of the snow and illuminated her partner. How she was sleeping through this much light, Myka did not know, but she was glad to have another chance at watching the smaller woman under the thrall of sleep.

Myka shifted her weight to relieve the pressure of her shoulder against the hard floor. Helena stirred again, but this time it was enough to wake her. Her head tilted more into Myka's space as she let out a yawn. Myka felt gloved fingers as they stroked over the exposed skin on her wrist and she couldn't even try to hold back the smile on her face.

Myka missed the direct warmth against her as Helena turned over, but it was worth it to see her partner's sleepy expression of contentedness. They faced each other, still closely snuggled under the protection of the space blanket.

Helena reached out to adjust a stray curl of hair and Myka felt the lingering graze of fingertips as that hand came to a rest on her cheek. She instinctively leaned into the touch and her eyes fluttered shut. Her own hand twitched, arm still draped lazily over Helena's small waist. She wanted to reach up to run her fingers through the silky strands of raven hair and pull Helena in for a kiss.

Myka opened her eyes to find Helena studying her. It was as if the artificer was reading straight through her thoughts and it left Myka feeling vulnerable.

"You don't need to be afraid," Helena whispered, not pushing for anything more, but not backing off either.

Myka exhaled softly to calm her nerves. She started to withdraw her arm from its position over Helena's waist and slipped her hand slightly higher up her torso. She leaned forward, letting her forehead rest against Helena's.

"Everything about the way you make me feel is terrifying," she muttered, not meeting Helena's eyes.

"Darling, I'm not always as fearless as I may seem about you," the smaller woman confessed.

Myka glanced up to meet her partner's eyes, "well then you hide it a lot better than I do."

"I was born in a time when a woman with my skills and proclivities had to keep herself hidden because it was not proper. When one does it for long enough, it comes second nature. I don't consciously hide any part of myself from you, Myka, and I can assure you that I will continue working toward being as transparent as possible for you," she finished with candor.

Myka didn't need to hear another word. She pulled back long enough to look Helena in the eyes and slowly leaned forward again until their lips connected. The kiss was soft and sweet, but short lived as Myka retracted to see her partner's response. Helena's eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted.

Feeling bold, Myka slid her hand up Helena's back while grabbing her other hand onto her coat and pulling her in close; pressing their lips together again with more force. Helena gasped at the contact and Myka took the other woman's bottom lip between her own. She was spurred on as Helena's hand slipped behind her head and grasped at the curly locks. She grazed her teeth over the Brit's lip, applying just enough pressure to elicit a small moan from the artificer.

"Darling," Helena barely forced out, "I'm not going to take you out here in the woods. As romantic as that may seem, we'll both be worse for wear if I have my way with you on this rigid surface."

Myka's insides lurched at Helena's forward statement. She wasn't sure if she cared about the possibility of some scrapes and bruises. She had been curious about this from the first moment she laid eyes on Helena; hair pulled up, loose tendrils hanging down to frame her face. She was snarky and brilliant, and yeah, a bit evil at the time, but Myka was drawn to her regardless. Now, after all they've been through, they were finally sharing the intimate touches that Myka so desperately wanted.

"Please," she breathed into another kiss. Her body yearned to feel Helena's skin against every part of her.

"I can't...think straight...with your lips...on mine," she managed through Myka's assault on her lips.

"Then don't think. Just kiss me."

Myka saw the flare of desire in Helena's eyes as she swiftly did exactly that and maneuvered the taller woman onto her back. Myka was abruptly reminded of how hard the floor was when her elbow slammed into it.

"Ow ow ow," Myka groaned.

"I'm so sorry! I knew this was going to happen. I really didn't want you to get hurt!"

Myka laughed at Helena's excessive concern. "It was just a little bump, I'll be fine," she assured with a soft kiss, "but I guess you're right. I don't think we'll have enough control over ourselves to do this safely."

Helena's eyebrows perked up as she settled her weight on Myka. "Admitting that you are going to lose control over yourself? I may have created a monster out of you."

Myka laughed because she couldn't even disagree. What is this woman doing to me, she wondered.

Myka didn't want their closeness to cease, but like a broken record, she once again told Helena that they ought to get back to the road to continue their trek.

"Of course, darling," Helena agreed, as usual. "It is rather cozy in here with this brilliantly constructed space blanket, but I still think I'd much prefer to get moving. The sooner we arrive back at the cabin, the sooner I can ravish you," she added with a smirk and a slight wiggle on Myka's body.

After a few moments of regaining her composure, Myka nudged her partner. "You're going to have to move off me if you want that to happen."

"Yes, yes, I am aware. Just basking in this feeling to last until then."

A few more moments passed before Helena finally rolled over with a sigh and Myka could regain her bearings. Sitting up, she wondered what time it was. Her body protested the movement, muscles stiff from sleeping on the hard floor. She made her way to the edge of the shelter to get a good look at the sun's position and estimated that it was probably a bit past 8:00 am.

Helena groaned as she, too, realized how sore her body had become during the night. She scooted over and stood next to Myka.

"Well, at least the sun is shining and the wind died down," Myka shrugged as they looked at the snow covered path they needed to walk back to the road.

The sunlight didn't make the snow any less exhausting to trudge through, but it helped keep them warm as it beat down on their backs, already growing strong despite the early hour.

They arrived back on the road to find that a plow must have come through during the morning. There was still a layer of snow and ice covering the road, but it was far easier to walk along.

"Hopefully the plow comes back through soon and we can just hitch a ride into town," Myka said. "That would make this a whole lot simpler, but until then, let's keep aiming for the gas station."

"Indeed, I am in need of sustenance and perhaps they have alcohol," Helena added. "I could use a stiff glass of whisky after the lot of this."

"Ah, you're not going to find whisky at a gas station. Maybe cheap beer with low alcohol content, but not hard liquor, and certainly nothing up to your standards."

"Well that's bollocks."

"We'll have ourselves a good drink when we get back. Maybe find some fancy champagne to celebrate not freezing to death."

Helena made a face. "I am not particularly fond of champagne. You, however, are more than welcome to it while I enjoy my whisky."

"Champagne is no fun if you're drinking it alone," Myka pouted.

"I'll still be drinking with you, just not the same thing as you."

"Right, but that negates the point of the champagne. I might as well just have beer."

"Either way, it's clear that we need a night of alcohol and debauchery after this is all over," Helena concluded with a satisfied grin.


	12. Revolting Little Things

The agents didn't come across any cars driving on the road. As the sun rose higher, the snow on the road turned into slush. The water crept into Myka's boots and soaked through her socks. It made the journey miserable.

"My boots are holding up splendidly," Helena announced cheerfully, clearly unaware that it wasn't polite to brag while her partner was suffering.

"I am so glad to hear that at least one of us isn't sloshing around in wet socks," Myka shot back sarcastically.

Helena just smiled and Myka let it go, figuring she missed the sarcasm. It was easy to forgive her partner with an illuminating smile like that.

They walked their way around a bend in the road and finally caught sight of the gas station.

"Oh, good, it's about time," Myka said with relief. "I could have sworn it was closer than this."

"That eidetic memory is failing you, darling," Helena commented.

"It's not a memory issue, it's a distraction issue," Myka retorted while purposely bumping her shoulder into her partner.

"You really ought to get control of yourself. I can't hold the blame for every one of your mishaps," Helena tossed back with a smirk.

"Well, it's not my fault that you're such an adept flirt. You always know exactly what you are doing to me and I don't think that's fair. You've had over one hundred years to perfect your game."

"Ah, yes," Helena mused, "of course I spent all my time in Bronze thinking of the many ways to flirt with innocent, unsuspecting warehouse agents and set them off kilter."

"Exactly."

"You may not have been particularly forward, darling," Helena began, "but you certainly had your own part in our interactions. I merely worked off what I was provided."

Myka snorted as a response and left it at that, getting lost in her thoughts about their earlier encounters-the unnecessary touches, the lingering glances. Okay, maybe I was a bit obvious, she thought.

As they approached the gas station, Myka noticed that the inside lights were not turned on and there were no vehicles outside of the building.

"Great, it isn't even open," she complained, tugging at the door handle. She walked over to the payphone to find that it was missing the phone. "Even better. If only payphones that actually functioned were still a normal thing."

"Payphones?" Helena inquired, peeking over her shoulder. "Do elaborate."

Realizing that payphones must not have been in use until after Helena was Bronzed, Myka again had to explain a modern technology to her partner.

"Ah, right, it's just a phone installed onto a wall or on a post where people can insert coins to make a phone call in public," Myka said. "They're still around here and there, but mostly obsolete because of how many people have cellphones. I don't see them as much as I used to, and when I do see them, they're often broken like this. It's probably not worth maintaining them."

"I see. Thank you, professor," she added with a wink. "Well, since we can't use this phone here, we'll just have to let ourselves inside. I'm certain there must be a phone in there."

"Helena, we can't just let ourselves into a locked store," Myka said with a disapproving tone.

"Sure we can, I've got my lock picking tool!" Helena exclaimed with enthusiasm, eager to boast her invention again.

Myka always loved the light that sparked in her partner's eyes when she was using one of her inventions. Not wanting to put a damper on Helena's excitement, Myka reluctantly agreed. It's not like we're breaking in for fun, she thought. We are government agents who need to call for help. The owner of the business will certainly understand.

After reassuring herself, Myka moved toward the door, watching as Helena procured the picking device from a small pocket in her coat and deftly opened the second lock since they arrived on the mountain. The artificer pulled the door open and waved Myka through first.

Hesitantly, Myka entered the store. There weren't any alarms that she could hear, but at least they would have a way back to town if the police were alerted silently. She strode to the back of the counter and lifted the phone off the hook.

"It's dead," she announced, slamming the phone back onto the receiver with too much force. She was usually a very patient person, but now her forbearance was running out. "How is this even possible?"

Helena stepped over into her space, pulling her hand away from the phone and spinning her so that their eyes met.

"Myka," Helena worried gently, cupping her other hand at Myka's cheek, " Myka darling, this isn't like you."

"I just..." Myka began with hesitation, not really sure why she was being so emotional. "I don't know. I'm exhausted and starving and this is yet another phone that doesn't work and my feet are freezing! Do you have any idea how hard it is to hold yourself together when your socks are cold and wet? Really hard." She could feel tears start to well up in her eyes, but managed to push them away before she embarrassed herself too much more. "Ugh, I'm sorry."

"You need not apologize," Helena comforted. "This has been a trying experience and I think we are both feeling a little worse for wear. Besides, I was the last one to have a meltdown, so it only seems fair that you've had your chance at it." The last addition was enough to make Myka smile. "Ah, that's the Myka I know," she finished, flashing back her own smile.

"Okay," Myka breathed, getting back to business, "still no phone to make a call, but at least now we have some food and supplies. We've already done some breaking and entering, might as well as theft to the list."

"We'll be certain to pay them back for anything we take," Helena said. "Oh, I know! I can leave a post-it note to inform them that they shall be reimbursed and place ancillary notes in the places whence we remove items! I'm most assured they'll have post-it notes around here somewhere..."

Laughing as her partner looked around excitedly for post-it notes, Myka started browsing the small aisles of the convenience store. Before worrying about anything else, she needed water and something substantial to eat. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and twisted the cap off. After taking the first sip, she realized just how dehydrated she had become and tilted her head back, gulping the cold liquid until the bottle was half empty. Wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, she noticed Helena at the end of the aisle, watching her with a different kind of thirst. Myka played it cool and walked toward her partner.

"Thirsty?" she asked with feigned ignorance of Helena's desire and held out the bottle.

"Something like that," Helena replied slowly as she accepted the bottle and purposely brushed Myka's fingers with her own.

Myka turned toward the shelves to browse the granola bars, but stole a lingering glance at Helena as she drained the rest of the water from the bottle.

"Did you find any post-its up front?"

"Not a single one and I am dreadfully disappointed."

"Maybe they have some stocked on the shelf," Myka offered as she opened the foil wrapper of a granola bar and bit into it. "Want one?"

"Undoubtedly not one with raisins," she murmured while making a face at Myka's choice, "revolting little things, they are."

"Take your pick, they've got enough varieties," Myka managed to say through the mouthful of granola.

"Variety, indeed," Helena mused as she scrutinized the ingredients of each bar.

"I'll look around for post-its while you choose," Myka said over her shoulder as she made her way to the next aisle. She looked from top to bottom on every shelf, but couldn't find any kind of paper, let alone actual post-it notes. She returned to Helena who was still weighing her options by the granola bars.

"None of this is appealing," Helena complained as she held one of the bars in her hand. "The lot of it is overly processed junk full of preservatives."

"Well yeah, we're in a convenience store. Everything in here is going to be overly processed junk, but we're both starving and in need of sustenance, so suck it up and eat something," Myka snarked as she grabbed a box of raisins off the shelf and tossed it in Helena's direction.

"Well aren't you cheeky," Helena retorted as she caught the raisins. She walked toward Myka and stopped within centimeters of her space as she placed them back on the shelf.

"Someone needs to make sure you eat something and keep an eye on you."

"I am exceedingly aware of how frequently you keep both of your eyes on me," Helena teased, shifting closer. "Must be such a difficult job."

"Extremely difficult," Myka quavered at their proximity. She could feel Helena's warm breath on her skin.

"Do you find it easier to manage when I stand a slight bit closer?" Helena purred as she played with the zipper on Myka's coat.

"Not exactly," Myka gulped and closed her eyes as Helena leaned in. Their lips met in a slow kiss, as if Helena was still testing how far she should push. Immediately flashing back to their kisses this morning, Myka jerked Helena by the coat and their lips pressed against each other more urgently.

Oh how she already missed this feeling. Helena's lips were like magic. Myka had never felt so much from a kiss and she didn't want it to end when Helena pulled away slightly.

"You're not doing a very good job of keeping watch with your eyes shut like that," Helena teased, punctuating with a kiss. Myka's eyes opened to see the shorter woman studying her with a satisfied smirk.

"Incorrigible."

"Merely trying to keep you on your toes, darling," Helena quipped. "Now where are my post-it notes?"


	13. Sweet Scent

"No post-it notes," Myka told Helena. "No post-its, no paper. Nothing. Not even sure how that's possible, but it's become clear that nothing at all is working in our favor. I think we might have to write our notes on receipt paper from the register. I did at least see a pen over there."

Helena pouted and sighed dramatically. "Well that's no bloody fun."

"No, but it'll have to do. I'll buy you some post-its when we get back home," Myka promised. She watched as a smile broke out over her partner's face at the word 'home'. Helena never felt as at home as she did at the Warehouse and Myka was glad to be a part of it. As much as Helena had been through, she deserved the stability and happiness that she finally found at Warehouse 13.

"But for now, we need to focus and start gathering the supplies we'll need for the rest of our trek back to town," Myka reminded her easily distracted partner.

"I will gather the paper from the register. You can decide which rubbish we shall bring along for sustenance," Helena instructed. "I think you will be able to sort out which to acquire more quickly than I."

"Yes, ma'am," Myka replied with a mocking salute.

Myka started wandering the aisles to fill her pack with food. She focused on grabbing more of the granola bars and bags of beef jerky. They were the most promising of their options for keeping them fueled with enough energy. As she strolled down the candy aisle, the packs of Twizzlers caught her eye. She didn't really eat a lot of candy or sugar, but she loved Twizzlers. Eyeing them up for a brief moment, Myka stuffed a bag into the bottom of her pack with a smile.

After her pack was stuffed with food and water bottles, Myka grabbed another water bottle and joined her partner at the front of the store. Twisting the cap, she slid it across the counter to her enthusiastically scribbling partner.

Myka peered down at the note, admiring the concise handwriting as Helena finished with a flourish. Deciding that it was probably for the best, Myka snagged the note off the counter and read it.

> _To whom it may concern,_
> 
> _My name is Helena Wells and I am an agent with the United States Secret Service. It is most regrettable that my partner and I had to let ourselves into your establishment to consume your goods. We were in dire need of sustenance and no one was present to assist us. We will be certain to send monetary compensation for the aforementioned goods._
> 
> _With regards,_
> 
> _Helena G. Wells_

Despite the somewhat accusatory tone, Myka figured that the note was good enough to serve its purpose and it didn't seem necessary to cause a fuss over it. She picked up the phone one more time to check for a dial tone, but it was still dead.

"Ready to get out of here?"

"Positively."

WIth another glance around the store, Myka noticed the cell phone chargers hanging at the far end of the counter. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed, but her excitement was quickly dampened upon realizing that the only chargers available were for the car. Not a single one was made to plug into a standard wall outlet. She took one off the hook and stowed it into her pack in the event that they were found by someone driving along. She didn't like being out of touch with Artie for so long and needed to call him as soon as she is able.

The agents made their way back to the door and Myka glanced back one last time before letting the door close behind them. After a few paces, Myka suddenly asked, "oh, right, can you use your pick to lock the door back up?" I don't want to cause trouble if anyone else comes by before the proprietor makes it back."

"Of course."

Moments later they departed the gas station with renewed energy. Myka retreated into her mind for a while to recalculate how much farther they had to walk before exiting the mountain park and likely encountering a motorist.

"We're probably only about two hours away from a main road, so why the heck am I carrying so much food and water," Myka wondered out loud as the pack pulled heavily at her shoulders. "Want a drink and a snack?"

"Well, I suppose I can try some of that dehydrated meat."

Swinging the pack off one shoulder, Myka handed a bag of jerky to the woman at her side and withdrew the Twizzlers for herself. She opened the package and breathed deeply. It had been a while since the last time she indulged in Twizzlers and the smell made her mouth water.

She realized that Helena was staring and suddenly became self conscious of her intimate moment with the sweet scent of strawberry licorice. Clearing her throat, she lifted her face away from the bag and pulled a single piece of candy out of the bag.

"By all means, darling, please enjoy your disgustingly bizarre plastic candy," Helena laughed.

Myka flashed back to the time she convinced her partner to try the candy and it was a hilarious disaster. Helena had taken one small, hesitant bite and made a visible effort to keep from spitting the candy onto the floor. She managed to force it down and immediately questioned how Myka could enjoy such a vile substance. Myka had snatched the rest of the Twizzler back from her partner's hand, took an exaggeratedly large bite, and said around the candy, "fine, that's just more for me."

Myka was lost in her thoughts again as she chewed on the pieces of candy. The agents walked in a companionable silence until they heard a sound off in the distance.

"Myka, do you hear that?"

* * *

When Claudia discovered Myka's Farnsworth at the Bed and Breakfast yesterday morning, she let Artie know right away, but assured him everything would be fine and that she would stay in touch with them. Myka and HG both had their cell phones with them and it was an easy mission. She didn't think there was any reason to worry until late that night.

She was just chilling in the living room with her laptop when she decided to try texting HG to ask how things were going between the her and Myka. Their flirting was so obvious that she would have been surprised if even Artie couldn't see it. When she didn't get a response after 20 minutes, she tried texting Myka to ask about how the mission went. Fifteen minutes passed and she still didn't get a reply.

"Well that's weird," she said out loud to no one in particular.

"What's weird?" Pete questioned as he walked toward the kitchen.

"No response from HG or Myka. You know Myka always has her phone glued to her in case she needs it."

"Maybe they're busy getting it on," he suggested with a knowing look and mildly inappropriate thrust of his pelvis.

Claudia tossed a pillow at his head. As many times as they did that to each other, she was still surprised they haven't knocked things off the tables.

"Nah, dude, I think Myka would actually stop in the middle and reply to a text. You know how she is about her responsibilities," Claudia reiterated.

Pete snorted, "yeah, but you also know how she is about HG."

"Good point," Claudia added after pause. "It just seems weird to me that we haven't heard anything from them since this morning. I would get it if the cell service was craptastic in the great outdoors, but they should've been back to their room way before now and able to make a call. Myka would have checked in. You don't have a wonky vibe?"

"Well, I had something, but I thought it was just those four chili dogs I scarfed down for dinner," Pete said with an aptly timed burp.

"Gross, dude!"

"Better out than in," Pete shrugged.

"I'm going to try calling their phones. If they don't pick up right away, I'm bringing in Artie," Claudia declared as she hit the speed dial for Myka's phone.

"Alright, but if you interrupt their sexy times, HG is going to have your head."

The call went straight to voicemail and Claudia left a short message before trying HG's phone. With the exact same results, Claudia started to get really worried. She scooped her Farnsworth off the table and called Artie. "I think we have a problem."


	14. Up and Over

It was the next afternoon and Claudia was hovering over the mountain in a helicopter with Artie and Pete, looking for any sign of HG and Myka. Artie had spoken with the owner of the lodge to find out that his agents never returned to their cabin last night. Things moved quickly from there. Everyone was tensely quiet as they boarded the private airplane that was reserved for emergencies. The silence was uncomfortable and no one managed to get any sleep.

They checked the cave with the artifact first, but both it and the agents were long gone.

"Over that way!" Artie gruffed at the pilot of the helicopter as he pointed their right.

"Man, I told you I had a bad vibe," Pete said with worry as he looked down at the abandoned, snow covered vehicle.

"Dude, you said you had chili dogs!" Claudia retorted.

"The dogs just disguised it. I was still vibin' and it was still bad."

"Would you two stop acting like children for five minutes," Artie demanded with impatience.

Claudia was about to protest but closed her mouth and directed her attention out the window when she saw the look on Artie's face.

The chopper made its way to the vehicle and the pilot circled to find a place to land. "I don't see anywhere clear enough to set her down. We either need to look farther, or you can take the drop ladder."

"We don't have time," Artie barked over the loud whir of the helicopter blades. Lower us down and stay close. I have a feeling they aren't with the car anymore, but maybe we can get an idea of which way they've headed."

Claudia exchanged a look with Pete, both realizing that it would take a lot less time if Artie didn't have to make his way down then back up the ladder.

"How about you just let me and Claudia go down to look and we'll be right back up," Pete suggested cautiously.

Claudia sat at the edge of her seat as the pilot settled the helicopter into a position above the car. Pete climbed down first and Claudia followed with ease. They quickly dashed to the car, anxious to make sure the agents weren't in the car and in bad condition.

Pete brushed the snow off the driver side window with his sleeve and sighed with relief to see the car empty. He tried the handle, but the car was locked.

Claudia went around the rest of the car, brushing off snow and making sure the agents were not in the back.

"Not here," she called to Pete.

"I don't think we'll have any tracks to follow. It looks like a lot of snow has fallen since they abandoned the vehicle."

"They probably walked back the way they came," Pete theorized, "which I would assume is the direction that the vehicle is facing."

"Right, let's bounce and fly along the road," Claudia agreed as she reached back for the ladder.

* * *

Myka quickly turned to face the direction from which they just walked. She could hear the distant hum of machinery.

"That sounds like a helicopter," she said excitedly. "It must be far over the mountain. Quick, we need to get ourselves into the most clear area we can find that provides the most contrast." She reached back for Helena's hand and grabbed hold of it, pulling her forward. "We want to make sure they can see us."

Although not easily caught off guard, Helena stumbled as she was suddenly being yanked forward. Myka slowed down and gave her a chance to catch up before tugging urgently at her hand again, pulling back in the direction of the gas station. They hadn't made it far and that was the least tree-covered area they had encountered in quite some time.

"I do hope you're correct about this," Helena started, "because I don't particularly enjoy backtracking."

"Come on, it's got to be Artie and Pete. We've been out of contact for too long and there's no way they'd not be looking for us by now."

Myka tugged some more at her partner's hand as she increased her speed to a jog.

"Not everyone here has eaten enough sugar to get a rush, darling," Helena protested, but still managed to keep up.

They rounded the bend and dashed to the gas station. Myka immediately started searching for items that would create an eyesore to draw attention. There was little more than a couple of wooden pallets and an empty gas can, but the latter was bright red and she grabbed it on her way to the side of the building.

"We can climb up onto the dumpster. Then, if you help give me a lift, I should be able to make it onto the roof of the building," Myka explained as she tossed the gas can on the snowy dumpster lid. Carefully placing her foot at the protruding corner of the metal dumpster and grasping the grooved edge of the top, Myka pulled herself up. Covered in snow, she tested the stability of the lid. "It should hold both of us just fine. Come on!"

Myka watched as her partner mimicked her foot placement and reached up to her outstretched hand, gripping firmly. Myka slipped in the wet snow and barely caught herself from falling down onto Helena.

"Not to worry, I can make it up just fine on my own," Helena said confidently while positioning herself again and climbing onto the dumpster with ease.

Myka brushed the snow off her pants and sat the gas can on the edge of the roof. "Get a really good foothold. It's a bit slippery."

Helena assessed where best to place her feet and motioned for Myka to step closer.

"Right then, up you go!"

Myka grabbed onto the concrete ledge of the roof as her partner gripped her hips. She pulled with all of her strength as Helena pushed from below. She felt as her partner's hands repositioned themselves to her butt.

"I hope you're enjoying this," Myka managed to get out through gritted teeth as she struggled.

"Very much so!"

With one last push from Helena, Myka was able to pull hard and rest her abdomen on the ledge. Breathing deeply, she composed herself and launched her body the rest of the way over the ledge.

"I don't think I can pull you up here," Myka frowned, "so, you can either stay there on the dumpster, or break back into the store for anything else that may come handy in attracting their attention."

"Righty ho!" Helena exclaimed as she leapt to the ground with ease.

"She was too eager for that," Myka mumbled out loud to herself.

Myka watched the horizon in the direction of the helicopter's telling sounds. It was still running, but seemed to have come to a halt. Furrowing her brow, she tried to estimate its location. Her best guess was that it was near their rental car. They're smart, she thought, they'll figure out that we aren't there and then follow the road until they reach us. That's simple enough.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Helena shouting her name.

"I have constructed a plan to claim their notice!" she announced.

"Yeah, what's that?" Myka projected her voice to the ground.

"A simple mirror trick, actually," Helena shrugged with a compact disc in her hand, suddenly aware that it wasn't one of her most thrilling ideas.

"Ah, I see. The glare from the sun could definitely help catch their attention," Myka agreed, "especially if it nearly blinds them."

"Don't be so dramatic, it can't possibly blind them."

"No, probably not," Myka chuckled, "but when Tracy and I were teenagers, she shined the glare off her CDs into my eyes so many times, I was pretty sure I'd go blind."

Helena gave her a wide smile at the insight to her childhood. Myka loved sharing her memories with Helena because she was always genuinely interested in hearing about them, just as Myka always loved Helena's stories of her time before Warehouse 12.

"Do you want me to give it a shot from up here, or do you have a good spot down there to take aim?"

"I suppose I shall give it a go from the anterior of the gas pumps," Helena declared. "The sun is at an adequate enough angle to reflect off the disc. That way you are available to flail about with your gas receptacle up there!"

"Hey! I do not flail!"

"Do you not recall ten minutes ago when you flailed in an attempt to regain your balance atop the dumpster lid, darling?" Helena jested with a grin. "You most certainly do flail. Not to worry, though, it is rather endearing."

"Alright, you know what? How about you go over there now and play with your shiny disc. I'll be up here, effectively gaining the attention of the helicopter with my flailing," Myka sassed, overly emphasizing her words with a flourish of the gas can and paying no mind to the sound of the helicopter that had just breached the horizon.

* * *

"There they are!" Pete shouted from the co-pilot's seat, binoculars in hand. "Mykes is flailing around on top of a building with something red."

Claudia leaned forward to look. Sure enough, there was a curly head of hair holding onto a red object. "Do you see HG?"

"Yeah, she's on the ground trying to blind me with something shiny," Pete whined.


	15. Right Here, Right Now

Myka looked up and saw the helicopter. She jumped and waved her arms a few times before realizing that it was already heading for her.

"They see us!" she shouted with joy. She sat on the raised edge of the building and let out a deep sigh of relief. They would have made it to the main road today, but doing it this way was a lot easier; she was already exhausted enough.

As the chopper hovered at a safe distance above the building, Myka's hair blew wildly in the breeze caused by the blades. The door opened and Pete's face popped over the edge with a big smile. She wouldn't admit it to Pete, but Myka was beyond happy to see him.

"Need a lift?" he joked, widening his grin.

"It's about bloody time," Helena shouted from the ground.

Claudia peeked out and asked, "are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine enough. Just a bit tired and really really glad to see you," Myka answered.

"Let's get you up here, then," Claudia exclaimed as she started to lower the ladder.

Standing up, Myka realized just how much her body ached. She climbed up the ladder with precise movements and settled into a seat. Resting her head back, she closed her eyes and breathed another sigh. Claudia let more of the ladder out as the pilot eased forward to collect Helena from her position on the ground.

Between the physical and mental toll of the events, Myka could feel herself nearly drifting off to sleep. She was jostled by a new presence at her side and opened her eyes to see her partner. She lowered her hand to the small space separating their legs, subtly brushing the back of Helena's hand and offering a lazy smile.

"Right then," Helena suddenly began, "how about you get us off this bloody mountain?"

* * *

They arrived at the police station from where the helicopter was borrowed. The ride was mostly silent because the women were too exhausted to entertain much conversation.

Starting with Pete, the agents climbed out of the chopper. He offered his hand to assist Myka and she gladly accepted the help. At Helena's turn, Myka smirked when her partner scoffed at the assumption that she couldn't handle climbing out on her own. She watched as the artificer hopped out with ease and grace, brushing past Pete.

"The car is this way," Artie informed the agents as he started walking away. "I assume you're too tired to deal with flying back this evening, so we'll all stay at the lodge tonight."

"I want my own room," Claudia declared abruptly. "I am so not sharing with Pete's snoring and I don't think I could even handle seeing you in pajamas."

"I don't snore," Pete retorted, "but I do agree with Claudia. You in pajamas is not something I ever need to see."

Ignoring the interruption, Artie continued, "I'll be making arrangements to have the rental car dealt with tomorrow. Do you have the artifact?"

"Yeah, it's in my bag," Myka replied.

"Good. I'll take that when we arrive at the lodge."

"When you're done making arrangements with the rental agency, can you be sure to have money sent to the gas station?" Myka asked. "We needed some food and supplies. We only took about fifty dollars worth of merchandise, but we did kind of break in, so a little extra might be a nice gesture."

"Not to worry, Agent Bering, everything will be sorted out."

Everyone climbed into the car with Pete at the wheel and Artie in the front passenger seat. Although Claudia was the smallest, Myka sat in the middle seat of the back row. Helena positioned her body closer to the middle and leaned slightly into Myka's side. The contact was comforting and she was ready to see where things went between them when everything got back to normal.

They were stopped at a red light and Myka could feel Pete's eyes studying them in the rearview mirror. Pete was often an immature man-child, but he was very perceptive. She blushed under his scrutiny, but didn't shift away from Helena. She wasn't going to put on any blatant displays, but she had a feeling that the electric connection between Helena and herself would be impossible to hide fully. Right now, she certainly didn't have the energy it would take to keep anything hidden.

Myka looked out the window past Claudia and realized that she, too, was watching them. Definitely not keeping any secrets around these two, Myka thought. They don't seem very surprised or uncomfortable. My god, how long have they known?

There was an exchange of glances between Pete and Claudia in the mirror, and at that, Myka looked down at her hands in her lap. She couldn't deal with them right now-not while she was still so new to acting on the feelings she had been bottling up.

It was a short ride back to the lodge. The gravel driveway and parking lot were mostly cleared of snow, but the structures were still blanketed. Myka would have thought it was pretty if she wasn't feeling bitter about the snow's role in the events of the last two days.

"Can we get some dinner? We haven't exactly had a proper meal since yesterday morning and I could really go for a cup of hot cocoa," she added sheepishly. As a child, she always had hot cocoa after playing in the snow. Although 'playing' was not the right word for this experience, it was a long standing tradition she didn't want to break. It was also something she wanted to introduce to Helena.

Pete wordlessly parked the car close to the front of the main lodge and the group made their way inside. Once again, Myka was enveloped by the warmth of the fire burning in the hearth as she entered the building. This time she appreciated it far more than the first two times.

Claudia stepped through the threshold and spun slowly, taking in the decor. As soon as she spotted the dining area, she moved forward with long strides. Myka was close behind, feeling her stomach rumble at the close proximity to food. Claudia dashed to an open table nearest the kitchen and everyone followed.

Myka removed her coat and sat down as Helena did the same and placed herself in the next chair over. The artificer's obvious attempts to be close to her made Myka feel more confident in the mutuality of their feelings. As everyone else sat, the chair to Helena's left remained empty.

Moments after settling, they were approached by their waitress, Louise.

"Goood evening, Agents on Official Government Business," she greeted with a knowing smirk while passing out menus. "I see we have some additional guests today."

Claudia raised an eyebrow at the odd greeting, but didn't speak up. Artie was oblivious and Pete was already too involved in thinking about the food he was going to order.

"Let's get you started with some drinks," Louise suggested and turned her attention to Claudia first. "What'll ya have, dear?"

Still thinking about the implications of the waitress's greeting, Claudia was pulled from her thoughts. "Uhh, do you have Mountain Dew?"

"Sorry, we actually don't."

"How about Dr. Pepper?"

"Yep, we got that."

Taking their respective turns, drinks were ordered. With a slight pout, Myka convinced Helena to have hot chocolate even though she wanted tea.

"It's tradition. You have to drink hot chocolate after playing in the snow!"

"I'd hardly consider that playing," Helena snorted.

"There was some playing," Myka returned, but at the knowing look between Pete and Claudia, she turned red and quickly added, "you were involved in that snowball fight, too."

"That I was. Fair enough," Helena conceded. "I will have some hot cocoa with you...since I wouldn't want to break tradition."

Their drinks arrived while they were all absorbed in their menus. Myka smiled like a kid on Christmas morning and held her hot cocoa under her nose for a moment to breathe in the chocolate scented warmth. Helena gave a hesitant sniff before tasting it. She shrugged and took another sip.

"Well, it's not dreadful."

"Don't act like you don't love it," Myka teased. "It's delicious and warm and perfect."

"Maybe not perfect, but I suppose it is indeed warm and pleasing to the taste buds."

Pete made a snorting noise and Myka looked up. Everyone was staring at the two of them and she felt half naked. She cleared her throat and resumed looking at the menu despite already knowing that she wanted a cheeseburger.

After their food was ordered, the agents exchanged details about the artifact retrieval and provided a brief retelling of the past two day's events. Myka was extra careful to avoid the details of their sleeping arrangement.

"I still can't believe you forgot your Farnsworth," Pete chimed in.

"Me either," Artie gruffed disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry, Artie. I don't know how that happened, but I do know it won't happen again."

The food arrived and everyone dug in. Myka took a bite of her burger and almost choked as she felt Helena's hand settling over her thigh.

"So hungry," she tried to cover up around a mouthful of food, "guess I should slow down, though."

Helena just smiled while brushing her thumb back and forth across the fabric. Myka swallowed and felt the heat rise to her face. Pete eyed her suspiciously, but returned his attention to the hot plate of food in front of him.

Helena continued pushing Myka's limits as they ate, drawing small circles and inching her hand slightly farther to her inner thigh. Myka fought to keep herself from squirming under her partner's touch. Abruptly, she pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. Clearing her throat, she awkwardly announced, "I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back."

She caught the smirk that graced Helena's face as she quickly strode toward the hallway beneath the 'Restrooms' sign. The small room was dimly lit, but clean. She turned on the tap and ran her hands under the cool water before carefully splashing a small amount onto her burning face. Regaining her composure, Myka straightened her shirt and returned to the table. Everyone was finished eating and looked like they were ready to go.

"Ready?" she asked, and everyone wordlessly rose from their chairs to depart.

"I still need to make the arrangements for our rooms," Artie declared, "but you two may walk back to yours if you don't feel like waiting. We will meet back at the restaurant for breakfast in the morning. Be here at 9:00am."

Myka looked to Helena, who nodded toward the door. Assuming that meant she wanted to walk, Myka gave a curt nod and wished everyone a good night.

As soon as they were out the door and around the corner, Myka turned to her partner. "What was that?" she asked sharply.

"What was what?" Helena tried with feigned innocence.

"Don't even! You know exactly what you were doing to me in there."

"You enjoyed it, though." Helena purred, stepping closer to Myka. "I could almost feel your body humming for me."

"You can't do that in front of everyone!"

"Well, we're all alone at present," Helena countered, enunciating the last two words. Her head tilted slightly and a hand snaked around Myka, resting at her lower back. "So, if I happened to touch you - right here, right now - no one would ever know." She punctuated her sentence by pulling Myka against her body.

Myka shivered and let herself be held close by the artificer. She felt weak in the knees and her stomach was doing backflips. Searching her partner's eyes, Myka whispered, "how do you have this effect on me?"

"I can assure, darling, that it is not only you who is affected by the electricity between us."

The words were hardly out of Helena's mouth when Myka grabbed at her coat to pull her into a kiss. It was frenzied and desperate; the tension that built inside of Myka during dinner was seeking release.

Forcefully using her body to press Helena back against the building, Myka let out a growl.


	16. Shattered

Helena pushed her limits tonight, but now Myka was pushing back. Shifting her thigh between Helena's legs, she felt her partner lean into the contact. Myka grabbed at her hips and roughly yanked them forward, feeling the sharp gasp from the smaller woman against her lips. Myka ground her thigh into the apex between Helena's legs, spurred on by the effect she was causing. Bringing one hand to the nape of her neck and the other to the small of her back, Myka gripped the artificer possessively while pulling her lower lip between her teeth.

Myka snuck her hand under the back of Helena's coat and smiled at the shiver she caused. Tracing kisses along her jawline, Myka brought her lips to the delicate skin of the artificer's neck. Raking her fingers up into the raven locks, Myka sucked gently at the pulse point. Helena moaned and bucked forward.

In this moment, Myka held all the power. She nibbled and pulled the sensitive skin between her lips. She could feel Helena's breath at her ear in bursts of warmth, increasing in their intensity. With an impish smile, she ran her tongue up Helena's neck before stepping backwards and fully breaking their contact.

Myka was just standing there grinning when Helena managed to open her eyes. They first flashed with confusion, but quickly showed an understanding of the game Myka was playing.

"You little devil," Helena managed through ragged breaths.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not like being teased?"

"You will be regretting this, darling," the smaller woman threatened with a smile while stalking forward. She leaned into Myka's ear without touching her and whispered, "I can play this game far better than you can imagine." With the last word, Helena placed a light kiss on Myka's cheek.

Myka jumped when the bell of the lodge door jingled with awful timing. She heard Claudia's excited chattering and panicked. "Quick!" she whispered sharply, grabbing Helena's wrist and dashing toward the back of the building.

Myka tugged Helena down to crouch in the shadows, hoping the darkness would enshroud them well enough.

"I don't understand why we have to share a room," Pete whined.

"They only had two cabins available." Artie said with exasperation. "It's only fair to allow Claudia the modesty of her own."

"Well how come she can't go stay with Myka and HG? They've all got the same parts."

"Whoa, dude, I am so not intruding on their chance to have hot cabin se…" she quickly cleared her throat and amended her sentence, "...sleep. Warm, toasty cabin sleep. They must have been so cold and exhausted. Wow, look at the time, I am feeling quite tired myself."

Myka's face flushed at the realization that Claudia was aware of their developing relationship and Helena looked smug as she mouthed the words hot cabin sex. Myka cupped her hand over the smaller woman's mouth to make sure she stayed silent. Helena raised an eyebrow but kept quiet.

The voices of their fellow agents faded and Myka finally removed her hand from her partner's mouth with a pointed look.

"What? I didn't say a thing to anyone," she protested, "but I don't hide my feelings and you don't do a very good job at it. Claudia is a smart girl and it can't possibly have been very difficult to sort out."

Sighing, Myka stood and guided her partner back to her feet with a hand at her elbow. "Come on,"

she said with the exhaustion that crept back up on her. She threaded her fingers through Helena's and they walked back their cabin. If Claudia already has suspicions about us, she thought, Pete probably knows, too. Becoming aware that nearly everyone knew about them before there even really was a 'them' made Myka uncomfortable.

They reached the door of their cabin and Myka fumbled with the key. Her hands were shaking from the cold and the renewed apprehension.

"Hey now," Helena spoke softly, "it's alright." She covered Myka's hands with her own and brought them to her lips. "Everything is going to be fine. Everything is fine."

Myka sighed and let some of the tension leave her shoulders. "Everything is just going too fast and too slow, all at the same time. I feel like I've waited forever for this. For us. But now that it's becoming a reality, I'm not sure how to even deal with it."

"You don't have to 'deal' with it, darling. Embrace it. Let it be what it will. Let me guide you through it."

"That's easier said than done," Myka muttered with a shy laugh, "because you know I've got some issues when it comes to being in control all of the time."

"Yes, I am most certainly aware, but you need to let someone else carry the weight at times. Let me guide you through this. This is not my first rodeo, as I believe you Americans so eloquently put it."

Myka smiled at Helena's use of the idiom. "You have say it with properly improper American English: this ain't my first rodeo."

"That atrocious butchering of the English language shall never pass my lips," Helena grimaced at the contraction. Myka laughed and gave Helena a quick kiss on the lips and returned back to the issue at hand.

"Thank you for bearing with me while I sort this out," she said sincerely. "Now let's get inside before we freeze to death, despite making it all this way." She turned her attention to the door, unlocked it with ease, and held it open as the artificer brushed closely past her.

Myka was suddenly caught off guard as Helena grabbed her hand and hauled her through the doorway, finishing the motion by sweeping her into a firm embrace.

"Anything for you, darling," Helena declared while pushing the door shut with her foot. "Now that we are all alone, what do you want to do? I myself have hope for something that was suggested earlier by a delightful young Warehouse Agent."

"Ahh, yes," Myka agreed with enthusiasm, "warm, toasty cabin sleep!" At that, she kissed Helena's cheek and slipped away to the bedroom.

"We both know that was not the suggestion to which I was referring," Helena called after her, not following.

Myka removed her coat and sat down on the edge of bed, chewing her lip and hoping that Helena didn't think she really wanted to sleep. After a minute, she heard footsteps approaching and her partner rounded the corner with an already opened bottle of wine, two glasses, and a mischievous smile.

"It's no substitute for good whisky, but at least it's not champagne."

"I think we'll manage," Myka said as she crossed to Helena and took the bottle, brushing their fingers together. The smaller woman held the glasses out as Myka carefully poured the wine and sat the bottle on the side table. Accepting her glass from Helena, Myka breathed in its fruity aroma. "Smells lovely."

"Indeed it does. Cheers," she added with a wink.

The agents gazed at each other as they sipped from their glasses simultaneously. Helena's sip was small and and she swirled the smooth red liquid over her tastebuds as she seductively drew it into her mouth. Myka's sip was more of a gulp as she got distracted by Helena's lips and lost track of how much she tilted the glass. She tried to cover it up with another smaller sip, but it was to no avail.

"Yes, the taste is most agreeable," Helena smirked, "but I can think of something that is sure to taste far more pleasing." She finished her sentence while slowly raking her eyes down the length of Myka's body.

Myka felt like her clothes were useless under that gaze. She turned and took a few steps away to regain her composure. She drew in another gulp of wine, but this time it was intentionally large. She was always a lightweight when it came to alcohol and she could certainly use some help in loosening up for what she knew was soon to come.

Helena moved forward with a kind of grace that Myka had yet to see before now. She was always seductive, but this was at a new level. Throwing caution to the wind, Myka hastened to empty her glass of wine. She reached back to set it on the table but misjudged the distance and it fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

"Leave it," Helena demanded, pulling Myka away from the sharp fragments of glass and into her body. Their lips met with fervor and the glass was quickly forgotten.


	17. Devour You

Myka's heart felt like it was trying to pound its way out of her chest. Her pulse quickened at the nearness of Helena’s body. Their previous moments of such intimacy were hindered by the barrier of winter coats, but now there was very little between them as they clung to each other. Their chests rose and fell with heavy breaths drawn between kisses. 

Helena tantalizingly slid her hands up Myka’s sides, fingers splayed over her ribs and thumbs brushing daringly close to her breasts. Her nipples began to harden beneath the confines of her bra and she wanted nothing more than to be out of her clothes.

“Helena, please,” she begged in a whisper, “I just want to feel you. I want to feel you all over me.”

Helena smiled and raked her fingertips down Myka’s sides until she reached the hem of her shirt. The smaller woman ran her fingers across the slim area of Myka’s exposed midriff, eliciting an involuntary shiver. She gripped the shirt and tugged it upward, removing it and tossing it to the floor. Myka shivered again at the feeling of the cool air against her skin that was burning beneath Helena’s gaze. Without hesitation, Helena pulled Myka back in for a kiss and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra.

Helena brushed the garment off Myka’s shoulders and let it fall to the floor between them. Myka felt self conscious for a fleeting moment as Helena gazed at her breasts with desire, but the feeling passed as one of Helena’s hands firmly cupped her breast and the other hand buried itself into her hair, tilting her head to expose her neck.

Wet lips slipped over Myka’s delicate neck. Helena’s tongue was tracing patterns and Myka’s body jerked when she sucked at a sensitive spot while pinching her nipple. Helena dipped her head down to nibble at Myka’s clavicle briefly before she pulled her back in for a kiss.

Myka was thoroughly enjoying the attention from her partner’s tongue, but she wanted to taste Helena’s skin, too. Myka grasped at the smaller woman’s shirt and started undoing the buttons. Fighting the urge to rip it open, she made her way past each button and pulled the shirt open to reveal a simple black bra. It was striking against the smooth, pale skin and Myka had no control over her hands when they cupped Helena’s breasts through the fabric. She ran her thumbs over hardening nipples, marveling at the effect that she was causing.

“Darling, as much as I look forward to exploring each and every millimeter of your body later,” Helena uttered through a sharp gasp as Myka pinched her nipples, “and letting you explore mine, I think we’ve had enough foreplay over the past two days. Right now I just want to devour you.”

In a sudden series of movements, Helena turned Myka and backed her up until she could safely push her backwards onto the bed. Myka landed with surprise and was being straddled moments later. Helena finished removing the shirt from her body and unclasped her bra, tossing it to the side. Myka drank in the sight of her partner’s exposed breasts, licking her lips as she was grabbed at the nape of her neck with two hands and pulled in for a searing kiss.

Myka’s arousal grew at the sensation of Helena’s hard nipples against her own and a moan slipped past her lips. She bucked her hips up, trying to convey that she was ready for more. Helena understood the message and reached down between their bodies. She deftly unbuttoned Myka’s pants and dragged the zipper down teasingly. Placing a hand at the center of Myka’s chest, she pushed her down onto the bed and climbed backwards to stand off the foot of the bed. Myka lifted her hips as Helena pulled the pants off and started removing her own.

Helena motioned for Myka to scoot farther up the bed. She did as instructed and leaned back onto her elbows, watching her partner crawl seductively over her body. Myka was entranced by the way Helena’s taut muscles moved beneath her skin. She captured her lips when they were in reach and Helena settled her knee dangerously close to Myka’s center.

Kissing her way to the expanse of Myka’s neck, the smaller woman shifted her knee forward to make contact between Myka’s legs. Grinding her hips up, Myka could feel how wet she was and it spurred her on to move her hips faster. Seeing the building desperation in her partner, Helena brought her hand down to lightly skim over her core and Myka bucked up with a groan.

“Off. Get them off,” Myka growled, reaching to push her panties down her legs.

Helena grabbed her wrists and pressed them down into the bed. “Easy, darling,” she purred before slipping her fingers under the waistband and pulling them off. She looked at Myka’s sex with predatory desire and ran her hand up Myka’s leg until she was painfully close to the wet folds.

Slowly, she ran her middle finger through the center, grazing the bundle of nerves, and Myka couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped her. She tossed her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes at the sensation. Helena repeated the action several times and Myka was already losing herself.

Helena stopped and Myka opened her eyes out of confusion.

“Keep your eyes open.”

Myka struggled to keep them open when Helena slowly inserted a finger and hooked it up to stroke her g-spot. Withdrawing, Helena looked straight into Myka’s eyes, brought her finger to her lips, and tasted her sex. She sighed, clearly enjoying it.

“Even better than I anticipated,” she confirmed with a wink and leaned forward to pull Myka’s nipple into her mouth. Increasing the speed of her movements, Helena bit and sucked at the nipple while rolling the other one between her wet fingers.

Silky hair tickled Myka’s skin as Helena feathered kisses down her body. She threaded her hand through the raven locks and could feel herself growing more wet as her partner sucked at a sensitive spot on her lower abdomen. The kisses trailed down her inner thigh and Myka reached up with her other hand, gripping the pillow to ground herself. She let out a gasp and clutched the pillow as Helena’s tongue slid up her center, flicking over the bundle of nerves.

Myka writhed beneath Helena as she changed between different motions and speeds. She inserted two fingers and curled them up while focusing her tongue on the sensitive bud and Myka nearly lost control.

“Oh god, yes, right there.”

Myka could feel herself climbing higher until it was almost unbearable. She brought her hand to her breast and tumbled over the edge as the waves of her orgasm hit. Her entire body shook as she cried out in pleasure.

Coming back down to earth with ragged breath, Myka opened her eyes and beckoned Helena forward. Abiding by her partner’s wishes, Helena settled on top of Myka’s sweat slicked body. Regaining control of her arms, Myka reached up to pull her partner in for a kiss, claiming the wet, swollen lips to taste herself on them.

“That...was amazing.”

“There’s a lot more where that came from,” Helena assured with a self-satisfied grin.

“Better be. But right now, I think it’s my turn to devour you,” Myka said with a devilish smile as she brought her thigh up between Helena’s legs, slipping easily along her dripping center. Raising an eyebrow, Myka’s smile grew at Helena’s arousal.

“I’m not certain I’ll last very long,” Helena admitted. “Finally tasting you was enough to get me over halfway there.”

“I’ll just have to build you back up after the first one,” Myka grinned and tried to flip their positions. It didn’t go quite as she planned and Helena laughed.

“Very smooth, Agent Bering.”

“Shut up and lay down,” Myka demanded.

“Ooh, authoritative Myka. I like it.”

Myka straddled Helena’s hips and placed a hand over her mouth. She leaned into her partner’s ear and whispered, “I said shut up.” At that, Myka took the Brit’s earlobe between her teeth for a moment before abandoning it to leave kisses down her body. Myka had never done this before, but she just thought about what she would want done to her.

Helena was right in her hypothesis that she wouldn’t last long. In hardly any time at all, Myka had her squirming and uttering expletives between breaths.

Myka crawled forward and hovered over the smaller woman, watching as her breathing returned to normal.

“I knew you would be feisty in bed,” Helena quipped with a smile, leaning in for a kiss.

Myka let Helena pull her down and it was clear that she was not done yet.

* * *

Myka woke the next morning, tangled in the sheets and Helena’s limbs. Realizing that someone was banging at the cabin door, Myka launched herself out of the bed and looked at the clocked.

“Oh boy, that’s not good,” she worried, turning to her partner who groaned and buried her face into the pillow. “Helena...Helena get up, we overslept. That’s probably Artie banging on the door. Oh god. Artie. We can’t let him see us like this.”

Looking for her clothes strewn across the room, Myka gave up and wrapped the blanket around her body as securely as possible and dashed to the door. Pulling it open just enough to see out, Myka smiled sheepishly at her angry boss.

“You missed breakfast,” he barked, not bothering with pleasantries.

“I’m so sorry, we must have been really exhausted because I passed out before I could set an alarm and we overslept.”

“Get yourselves sorted out and meet us at the main lodge. We need to be on the plane in an hour and a half.”

“Absolutely. You got it. We’ll be ready in a jiff.” She closed the door and dashed back to the bedroom, flinging the curtains open to let in the sunlight. “Let’s go, we have to be ready and out of this cabin ASAP.”

The older agent mumbled under her breath and rolled out of the bed, still naked and hair sticking off the back of her head.

They showered and dressed quickly and compiled their belongings. After giving the cabin a final inspection, Myka affirmed that they were ready to go.

The women carried their bags toward the lodge and strode over to the car that their fellow agents were already waiting by. Claudia was holding two cups and Pete was peeking into a white paper bag.

“Coffee, tea, and some breakfast pastries for the road,” Claudia announced, passing the cups over and nudging Pete to hand over the bag from which he just took a pastry..

“Thanks, we’re really sorry about the delay,” Myka apologized. “We must have been exhausted.”

“Yeah, I bet you were,” Pete managed around a mouthful of pastry. There was a glint of mischief in his eyes that were fixed on Helena. 

Myka looked to see why he was staring and flushed with embarrassment. In their haste to get ready, neither woman noticed the telling marks that had been left on the pale column of Helena’s throat.

_Fin_


End file.
